Save the Date: Saturday Oct. 1, 2016: 1pm: Group wedding at St. Augustine’s Church. Get “married in the Church” for only $150 (cost of Archdiocesan FOCCUS)! Read below. This is a great way to celebrate the Holy Year of Mercy.I'm trying to get the Archdiocese to waive the fee for the Holy Year, so it could be possible to get married free. Stay posted.
Married in the Church: Why get married “in the Church”? A sacramental, “church” wedding is different than a civil marriage which says nothing about Jesus and recognizes the man and woman as partners responsible for each other debts and able to inherit goods from each other. A sacramental wedding proclaims that this relationship is a blessed sign of the relationship with Jesus and the Church and is a ministry (like ordination is for a priest). In the United States, the priest can represent both the church and the state and it is not necessary to get married by a judge. (In most other countries, a couple must first be married by a judge and then later by a priest.) There are many couples in the parish, who have lived together for many years without any marriage or who have only been married by a judge. Perhaps the cost of a “church wedding” prevents people of modest incomes from getting married in church. Have we got a deal for you! The only cost may be $150 to the archdiocese for the FOCCUS inventory that all couples need to take to be married. The Ladies of Divine Mercy Parish would pay for a photographer to come to the group wedding, a modest bouquet/boutonniere for each couple, musicians, and coffee and cake reception afterward in the St. Augustine Hall. The bride and groom could simply wear good clothes. A bridal dress or tuxedo would not be necessary. We would plan this for October 1, 2016. In my last parish I had a wedding with 12 couples and another with 5 couples. We could do a bilingual wedding or have separate ceremonies for English- and Spanish-speaking. We would need at least 5 couples to do this. If you are interested, please call Patricia at the office (402 352-3540) or contact me by email ([email protected]). This would not a commitment, but show us that you are interested. This would be very nice for the Holy Year of Mercy. The best effect of getting “married in church” is that as a Catholic you would be able to receive communion again. The Eucharist is so precious and important for us. (Parents, please feel free to circle this and send this bulletin to a friend or relative.) If there has been a previous marriage to someone else, I would be happy to talk about the possibility of an annulment.
Requirements for Church marriage or validation of marriage: (1) one of the couple must be a baptized Catholic; (2) neither must have been married before to someone else (If one was married before by a priest, an annulment is needed. If previous marriage was before a judge, often this can be resolved quickly.); (3) if there has been no civil marriage, the couple must obtain a “marriage license” from a county in Nebraska. (It is not necessary to be married first by a judge.); (4) if the couple was married by a judge, then a new marriage license is not needed; (5) if one of the Catholic spouses has not received the sacraments of Eucharist, Penance, Confirmation, they can enroll in RCIA/RICA to be prepared to received these sacraments; (6) three intentions are necessary for a sacramental marriage: (a) permance, the intention that this promise is until death; (b) fidelity, the intention to be sexually faithful to the spouse; (c) children, openness to have children (unless the couple is older). (7) to be registered parishioners, (8) Need baptismal certificate, wedding license (if married civilly, we need copy of wedding license).