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Sacrament of Marriage
Marriage is the intimate, exclusive, indissoluble communion of life and love entered by man and woman at the design of the Creator for the purpose of their own good and the procreation and education of children. Christ elevated it to a sacrament.
The marital covenant is meant to reflect the love between Christ and his Church (Ephesians 5:32), the husband sacrificially giving of his life in love to his spouse and she returning her life back in self-gift. This sacrament gives sanctifying grace in order to more fully live out this calling to love each other selflessly and help each other to attain holiness. This unifying grace also helps the couple in their everyday struggles and in the raising of their children.
There are four essential elements that make the vows valid and sacramental:
- Free. There is nothing impeding a valid marriage and the couple freely consent without coercion. Love is a free choice to will the good of the other
- Full (Total): The complete and total giving of self to the spouse in mind, spirit, body and fertility
- Faithful: Exclusive in intimacy with spouse, committed for life
- Fruitful: Open to the gift of life in children if God so wills it
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Marriage Preparation
Since Marriage involves a lifelong covenantal commitment, effective preparation is important both in terms of understanding how to live out a relationship of self-sacrificial love as well as growing in deeper knowledge of yourself as well as your future spouse.
For your marriage preparation, you should plan for minimum six months before the anticipated wedding date. In addition, at least one of the couple should be a registered member of our parish. Here is brief overview of the process:
The first step is attending one of our marriage information sessions. Below is the remaining schedule for 2024-2025. These sessions are monthly on the first Tuesday at 7pm in the church. To RSVP for one of these sessions, please call the church office at 281-485-2421.
2024:- November 5
2025:- January 7
- March 4
- May 6
- July 1
- September 2
- November 4
After starting your initial paperwork, you'll then attend one of several formation options for Marriage Preparation:
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Annulments
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The Catholic Church, in following the words of Christ, teaches that Marriage is indisoluble. It is a covenant that is binding until death. Jesus teaches that divorce and remarriage is not possible (Mark 10:7-9, 11-12. See also 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 39). Separation should only happen for grave reasons such as danger of physical harm but the Christian marriage bond still remains.
An Annulment is a decree by the church that a valid sacramental marriage did not exist. It is not a "Catholic divorce". At your request, the diocesan tribunal will go through an investigation to determine if elements of a valid marriage were not present at the time of the attempted marriage. These may include things such as a lack of canonical form, impediments to freely marry, not being honest in the wedding vows (free, total, faithful, fruitful), etc.
Note that it may take a year or longer in some cases for a decree of nullity to be determined. It is possible it could also be denied, meaning that your original marriage was deemed to be valid and you are not free to marry. Please call the church office at 281-485-2421 if you have questions about the annulment process and how to get started.
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Marriage Convalidation
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Principles
Marriage is one of the sacraments of the Church in which the love of husband and wife symbolizes the love of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-32)
Catholics are required to observe a certain form of marriage ritual in order that their marriage be valid. Marriages in which one or both parties are baptized Catholic and which are not witnessed by an authorized bishop, priest, or deacon, or which do not receive proper permission to take place in another forum, are not considered valid.
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Who's it for?
Any couple that has entered into a civil marriage where either spouse is a Baptized Catholic and they were not married in the Catholic Church, then they would need a Convalidation, to validate their marriage sacramentally.
A Convalidation is not simply a renewal of the previous intention to marry, but the creation of a valid marriage in the sight of the Christian community. It is not a “blessing of marriage”
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What's the Process?
First, come to one of our marriage info sessions. Or, if this is time-sensitive, you can contact the church office to set up an appointment with one of our clergy. There will be some minor paperwork.
You may need to take some preparation classes to help you understand the sacramental nature of the marital covenant bond. Typically, if you are civilly married for more than 5 years, we recommend a marriage enrichment program.
The Convalidation can be a simple ceremony scheduled with Father on a weekday evening if desired. You’ll need at least two witnesses to participate.
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