Category

Catholic Weddings

Popular Catholic Wedding Readings

The Most Popular Catholic Wedding Readings

By | Catholic Weddings | One Comment
As couples prepare for their wedding ceremonies, they get to select the readings that they would like include as a part of their big day. As guests at various wedding ceremonies, we've all heard similar readings from wedding to wedding, but which of these readings are the most popular? Since we launched the Together for Life Online website in 2012, over 3,000 couples have selected their readings and prayers using the online selection form to supplement their Together for Life booklets. We decided to take a look at the data to see which wedding readings are the most popular in Catholic wedding ceremonies. Take a look at the statistics and the infographic below and see if you can guess which readings are being selected the most! Check out all the possible Catholic wedding readings here! (By the way, if you want to know when you should select the readings for your Catholic...
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Catholic Annulment

Catholic Annulment: Frequently Asked Questions

By | Catholic Weddings, Meaning of Marriage | One Comment

Fully grasping the Church’s teaching about marriage is complicated business. Understanding Catholic annulments can be even more so. Add to this rich, but complex teaching, the pain of divorce and often continuing timidity about entering a second marriage and many Catholics simply opt out of Church weddings the second time around. Here we offer sixteen frequently asked questions about Catholic annulments and brief responses by pastor and canon law expert Fr. Kevin E. McKenna  to help take away some of the mystery. 1. What is an annulment? An annulment, formally called “a declaration of nullity,” is an official declaration by the Roman Catholic Church that a marriage did not meet the requirements for validity. Validity means that the desired outcome (in this case, marriage) has actually taken place as recognized by the Church. Although to all outward appearances, a wedding was properly celebrated (the vows were recited before the priest…

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Catholic Wedding Music

Choosing Your Catholic Wedding Music

By | Catholic Weddings, Marriage Preparation | No Comments
You have seen weddings on TV and in the movies, and you have likely attended a few yourself to get ideas for your own Catholic wedding music. But have you considered also looking at your parish’s Sunday Mass? Paying attention to what happens at the Sunday Mass at your church—even if it’s not the same church where you will be married—will give you a huge advantage when you begin planning your Catholic wedding ceremony with the church staff where your wedding will take place. Many misunderstandings and disappointments that sometimes happen when you’re working with the church wedding coordinator, priest, or music director can be avoided if you just remember this key point: Your wedding is first and foremost a church ritual that needs to follow the principles and rules of the official public rites of the Catholic Church, also called “liturgies.” The church staff’s model for what your wedding...
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Getting Married in the Catholic Church

Getting Married in the Catholic Church: FAQs

By | Catholic Weddings, Marriage Preparation, Meaning of Marriage | 29 Comments
So you’ve decided to get married in a Catholic church. Congratulations on the sacramental journey you are about to begin. Indeed, the ceremony you will be planning is more than just an event, it is a sacrament, a sign of your union together founded upon the love of Christ. It is not a sign like a stop sign that says one thing plainly and simply. Rather it is a sign to the world of the covenantal (sacred and permanent) relationship into which God has called the two of you. Because your marriage is that kind of sign, it will have an effect on everything about you. Likewise, it will have varying effects on everyone you know. In short, you do not marry in private. Sometimes, when a couple contacts a Catholic church about setting up a wedding ceremony, they get questions about their backgrounds and things like parish membership from the parish...
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