Matrimony: A Sacrament of Commitment

Sacrament of Matrimony
          In the Gospel of John. Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.  In honoring the bride and the groom with his presence the Lord honored the relationship between husband and wife and graced their commitment. The church of today honors that same commitment.  As we engage in the marriage preparation process, we are mindful of the actions of the Lord Jesus who provided the good wine for the wedding feast.

As Theodore Mackin points out so clearly in the Marital Statement:
    "As God's love for the human race through Christ is a covenantal love,
     and this covenant is realized most fully in that portion of the human
     race that is the Church, so too the spouses' love is covenantal. They
     help from the human side to sustain and enhance the covenantal 
     relationship of God and the Church which was begun and is continued
     in Christ.  In this the Christian spouses' marriage is a sacrament."

Marriage is a unique relationship that involves a personal commitment to
another person at the depth of one's being.  It is a commitment to an 
intimate partnership of life and love.  The pastoral goal of the Church is
to help couples prepare not just for the wedding day but for a committed
and sacramental relationship of a lifetime.  First, helping a couple discern
their readiness to commit themselves to this marriage.  Second, to hear in
a new and deeper way their call to bring each other to Christ through the
vocation to marriage. Third, to celebrate their love in a life--giving way as 
they grow as a intimate community of life and love.

Jesus teaches that marriage imitates God in the embrace of another that completes oneself, in the laying down of one's life for another that allows an individual to love completely;  and in the offering of life and hope to another that gives joy and creates new life with God.

The Church offers to couples a marriage preparation process which consists of three parts:   The Assessment Phase
                       The Educational Process
                       The Preparation for the Liturgical Celebration

Couples are encouraged to begin formal marriage preparation with their
pastor as soon as possible after the decision to marry has been reached.
To ensure that a couple has time to prepare in a serious way for marriage,
this preparation must begin four to six months before the anticipated
wedding day.

Some available Programs within the Diocese of Savannah are:

• Sponsor Couples  -designed for individuals who are marrying for the first time.  Spending time with a married couple and discussing the following themes: the sacrament of marriage, finances, communication, sexuality, natural family planning, domestic violence and spirituality. Host couple:Drs. Gary and Brett Dawson                                       

• Engaged Encounter -  designed for individuals marrying for the first time.  The program is a total weekend experience, beginning on Friday evening and ending on Sunday afternoon. 
• Pre-Cana II - this program is intended for couples where either one or both parties have been married before.  It cover issues dealing with ex-spouses, step-parenting, and rebuilding trust after an annulment or death.
• Refoccus -  this is for couples who were married outside the church more than three years ago and would like their marriage validated.  There are five sessions: marriage as process, intimacy, communication, compatability and commitment.