Rite of Marriage During Mass

April 2, 1964
(1962 Missal)


1. After the gospel, a homily is preached. Or the priest may use all or part of the exhortation before marriage given on page 289.

Then all stand, including the bride and groom.

Sealing of the Marriage Bond

2. First the priest asks the bridegroom:

N., do you take N., here present, for your lawful wife according to the rite of our holy mother, the Church?

The bridegroom replies:

I do.

Then the priest asks the bride:

N., do you take N., here present, for your lawful husband according to the rite of our holy mother, the Church?

The bride replies:

I do.

The consent of one does not suffice; it must be given by both and expressed in words, if they can speak, or by equivalent signs, personally or through a proxy.

3. After the mutual consent of the contractants has been given, the priest directs them:

Now join your right hands and say after me:

Groom:
I, N.N., take you, N.N., for my lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
Bride:
I, N.N., take you, N.N., for my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

Confirmation of the Marriage Bond

4. Then the priest says:

By the authority of the Church I ratify and bless the bond of marriage you have contracted. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.

R. Amen.

Priest:
I call upon all of you here present to be witnesses of this holy union which I have now blessed. "Man must not separate what God has joined together."

Then he sprinkles them with holy water.

Blessing of the Wedding Rings or Ring

5. Next the priest blesses the ring or rings on a plate held by a server. Turned toward the spouses, he says:

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. 0 Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come to you.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.

Prayer (for two rings)

Let us pray.
Bless, + 0 Lord, these rings, which we are blessing + in your name, so that they who wear them, keeping faith with each other in unbroken loyalty, may ever remain at peace with you according to your will, and may live together always in mutual love. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Prayer (for one ring)

Let us pray.
Bless, + 0 Lord, this ring, which we are blessing + in your name, so that she who wears it, keeping faith with her husband in unbroken loyalty, may ever remain at peace with you according to your will, and may live with him always in mutual love. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Then he sprinkles the ring or rings with holy water.

Giving the Ring or Rings

6. Priest:
Now that you have scaled a truly Christian marriage, give these wedding rings to each other (this wedding ring to your bride) saying after me:

The groom takes the bride's ring from the priest and places it on the bride's ring finger, saying after the priest:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Take and wear this ring as a sign of our marriage vows.

The bride takes the groom's ring from the priest and places it on the groom's ring finger, saying after the priest:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Take and wear this ring as a sign of our marriage vows.

Priest:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the, Holy Spirit. Amen.

7. Then the priest adds:

R. From your holy temple, which is in Jerusalem. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Our Father (silently as far as:)
V. And lead us not into temptation.
R. But deliver us from evil.
V. Save your servants.
R. Who trust in you, my God.
V. Send them help, 0 Lord, from your sanctuary.
R. And sustain them from Sion.
V. Be a tower of strength for them, 0 Lord.
R. Against the attack of the enemy.
V. 0 Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come to you.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.

Prayer

Let us pray.
We beg you, Lord, to look on these your servants, and graciously to uphold the institution of marriage established by you for the continuation of the human race, so that they who have been joined together by your authority may remain faithful together by your help. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Blessing

8. Next, with his hands elevated and extended above the spouses to bless them (the server holding the book), the priest says, all responding:

May almighty God bless you by the Word of his mouth, and unite your hearts in the enduring bond of pure love.
R. Amen.

The following blessing may be omitted if the spouses are too old to expect children.
The priest says:

May you be blessed in your children, and may the love that you lavish on them be returned a hundredfold.
R. Amen.

Priest:
May the peace of Christ dwell always in your hearts and in your home; may you have true friends to stand by you, both in joy and in sorrow. May you be ready with help and consolation for all those who come to you in need; and may the blessings promised to the compassionate descend in abundance on your house.
R. Amen.

Priest:
May you be blessed in your work and enjoy its fruits. May cares never cause you distress, nor the desire for earthly possessions lead you astray; but may your hearts' concern be always for the treasures laid up for you in the life of heaven.
R. Amen.

Priest:
May the Lord grant You fullness of years, so that you may reap the harvest of a good life, and, after you have served him with loyalty in his kingdom on earth, may he take you up into his eternal dominions in heaven.

And, with his hands joined:
Through our Lord Jesus Christ his Son, who lives and reigns with him in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
R. Amen.

Then the priest continues the nuptial Mass, as in the Roman Missal, observing all that is prescribed there.

Moreover, wherever other praiseworthy customs and ceremonies are followed in the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony, it is fitting that they be maintained.

Nuptial Blessing

After the Our Father, before the priest says Libera nos, quæsumus, Domine, he stands before the altar at the epistle side. Facing the spouses, who kneel, he says the following prayers over them:

Prayer

Let us pray.
Listen with favor., 0 Lord, to our prayers, and graciously uphold the institution of marriage established by you for the continuation of the human race, so that they who have been joined together by your authority may remain faithful together by your help. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
0 God, by your mighty power you made all things where before there was nothing; you put in order the beginnings of the universe and formed for man, made to your image, an inseparable helpmate, woman. You gave woman's body its origin from man's flesh, to teach that it is never right to separate her from the one being from whom it has pleased you to take her.
0 God, you consecrated the union of marriage, making it a sign so profound as to prefigure in the marriage covenant the mystery of Christ and the Church.
0 God, you join woman to man and give to that society, the first to be established, the blessing which alone was not taken away in punishment for original sin or in the doom of the Flood:
Look with kindness on this your servant who is to be joined to her husband in the companionship of marriage and who seeks to be made secure by your protection.
May this yoke that she is taking on herself be one of love and peace. May she be faithful and chaste. marrying in Christ, and may she always imitate the holy women: may she be the beloved of her husband, as was Rachel; wise, as was Rebecca; long-lived and loyal, as was Sara.
May the author of sin have no mastery over her because of her acts. May she hold firm to the faith and the commandments. Faithful to one embrace, may she flee from unlawful companionship. By firm discipline may she fortify herself against her weakness.
May she be grave in her modesty, honorable in her chastity, learned in the teachings of heaven. May she be rich in children, may she prove worthy and blameless, and may she attain in the end to the peace of the blessed, the kingdom of heaven.
May she and her husband together see their children's children to the third and fourth generation and enjoy the long life that will fulfill their desires. Through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
R. Amen.

Then the priest returns to the center of the altar and says Libera nos, quæsumus, Domine, etc., as usual. After he has received the Precious Blood, he gives Communion to the spouses, and Mass continues.

After Ite, missa est, before the priest blesses the people, he turns to the spouses and says:

May the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob be with you, and may he fulfill in you his blessing, so that you may see your children's children to the third and fourth generation and afterward possess everlasting and boundless life. Through the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, forever and ever.
R. Amen.

The priest shall then instruct the spouses, in serious words, that they should be faithful to each other, that the man should love his wife and the wife love her husband, and that they should keep in the fear of the Lord. After this he sprinkles them with holy water and says Placeat tibi, sancta Trinitas, etc.

Source: www.catholicliturgy.com