Sacrament of Marriage

St. Peter Damian will celebrate "Marriage Weekend" on October 11th & 12th giving thanks to God for the numerous couples in our community who have embraces the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Marriage and have faithfully shared their example of faithful and sacrificial love with their families and our community. It is God who designed the union of one man and one woman to be an unbreakable bond: a covenant sealed by Christ. It is the sacrament administered by bride and groom themselves with a priest or deacon witnessing the vows and imparting blessing on behalf of God's church.

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Homilies at all Masses will focus on the Sacrament of Marriage with a special objective in encouraging those who are members of our parish yet were never married in the church to explore this possibility that can be easily facilitated with pastoral support and understanding at St. Peter Damian.

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Overall marriages in the Archdiocese have drastically dropped over the past two decades with many young couples. many Catholic, preferring to marry in secular venues or destination. We are called and obligated to value and respect Christ's gift - the Sacrament of Marriage.

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You can have your marriage blessed "convalidated" by the Church. What will this do for you?

• special sacramental grace of God's spirit to further strengthen your love and commitment.

• allow you to be in good standing with the teachings of our church and be able to receive Holy Communion, sacramental absolution, be a godparent and/or confirmation sponsor. lector, and Extraordinary Ministry of Holy Communion.

• permit you to authentically make your promise to God, at your child's baptism. to raise them in the faith as you live together as husband and wife.

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There may be situations, such as prior marriages, even outside of the Catholic church when an annulment may be necessary; length of marriage or birth of children during the marriage do not influence grounds for obtaining and annulment as the most important area of focus is the consent on the day of the wedding; were both parties able to give consent and make their wedding vows? Family history, childhood traumas, mental illness, addictions, fears, pregnancy, are just a few examples that could have made the consent invalid.

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The church offers a healing process for everyone. A special no-obligation session will be held in the JPII center on Monday, October 20th at 7:00pm to address any questions surrounding getting married in the church and also the annulment process. It will be hosted by our own Deacon Mariusz Kosla, wedding coordinator at St. Peter Damian and Field Delegate and Collegiate Judge at the Archdiocesan Marriage Tribunal. Please do not miss this opportunity. Feel free to invite others! No RSVP needed, just come!