Marriage is the sacrament that most closely imitates the love of Christ the bridegroom for His bride, the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church distinguishes between a legal marriage and the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Marriage is regulated by the civil government that has certain rules that must be followed to make a marriage legal. On top of that, the Church views marriages not just as a legal contract, but as a sacred covenant. A covenant is a relationship that is permanent, and is only dissolved at death.
If you are engaged and planning to be married we offer our congratulations and we look forward to working with you.
For a man and a woman to come to this understanding and to learn to live this in their daily lives as a married couple is our goal for your marriage preparation process. And this process does take time.
The marriage preparation process begins with a meeting with the priest or deacon where introductions are made and the wedding date can be confirmed. Over the course of about four to six sessions together with their priest or deacon, the couple comes to a better understanding of themselves, each other and what the Church expects of them as well as how the grace of the sacrament of Holy Matrimony will help them live out their lives together.
Your first step is to contact one of our priests or deacons by calling the Parish Center at (440) 333-2133 to begin the process. This process takes a minimum of six months, so a year is not too early to begin.
We also offer a Pre-Cana one-day marriage preparation/retreat each year at St. Angela's, which is usually held in the spring.
A good website for you as you prepare for marriage is the US Catholic Conference of Bishops website: www.foryourmarriage.org
