Sacrament of Matrimony

Matrimony is a sacrament at the Service of Communion that joins a man and a woman in a covenant for life, for the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children.

Among all the sacraments, the celebration of Matrimony is unique. Under normal circumstances, all other sacraments are conferred by an ordained minister. In the Latin Church, however, the Sacrament of Matrimony is understood to be conferred by the couple upon each other, with the minister acting as the Church’s witness.

A marriage is formed when the couple exchanges promises to give themselves freely and mutually to each other in a definitive way, vowing to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. This exchange of consent between the spouses is the indispensible element of the Sacrament of Matrimony. To form a valid bond, both the man and the woman must consent to permanent, indissoluble union and the openness to having children. If either person does not accept either one of these elements, there is no sacramental marriage.

The parties to a sacramental marriage covenant are a baptized man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent “to be free” means:
• Not being under constraint
• Not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law
To begin the preparation please call the parish office at 760-729-2866 to make an appointment with one of our deacons.

Source: Introduction to Catholicism, A Complete Course, The Didache Series,
Midwest Theological Forum, Woodbridge, Il., p 201-203