Marriage

A Covenant of Faithful and Fruitful Love

It is so much easier to believe in someone’s love for us when we feel their presence close to us. The closeness of a partner reassures us of their love. It should also reassure us of God’s love. For Christians believe that God reaches out and touches us through the love of others. Jesus Christ is at the heart of all love.

Falling in love is a very human experience. But when we decide to consecrate that love in Christian marriage our human love becomes a sign in the world of God’s love. Our experience tells us that there is something “extra” here – something beyond human explanation. When we pledge ourselves to unconditional love for life we show what Christ’s own self-sacrificing love is like – ours, like his, is a love without limits. We are in true partnership with God.

It is not surprising, then, that God does offer us his own supreme love to strengthen and sustain us and to make perfect love possible. That is what is at the heart of Christian marriage. This mystery and miracle of love, the sacrament of marriage, is indeed a partnership with God. God is involved, intimately, in the relationship.

• Marriage is a covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life.
• It is ordered to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children.
• Between the baptised, the marriage covenant has been raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament.
• The essential properties of marriage are unity (faithfulness to one another) and indissolubility (a lifelong commitment).
• In the sacrament, the couple themselves are the ministers – they confer the sacrament on each other through their consent, with the priest as the Church’s witness.

Check availability of our Churches at the Parish Office (046 907 3805) or by email at least 12 months in advance.

The booking of the Church for the marriage is deemed to be provisional until the freedom of the couple to marry in the Church is established.

It is recommended that couples make a contribution for use of lights, heating etc. (€300.00)

All couples must complete the Pre-Nuptial Inquiry and related forms in their local parish at least six months before they wish to get married.

Contact ACCORD (www.gettingmarried.ie), Navan or another Accord Centre and register for pre-marriage course, at least 6 months in advance. Phone 046 902 3146.

Under a directive from the Civil Registrar’s Office (Sept 2007), couples must present themselves to the Civil Registrar at least 3 months before the date of the marriage. Along with personal data, the couple must give the name of the solemniser (priest) of the marriage to the Registrar.

The Civil Registrar in time will give a Civil Registration Form to the couple. On the day of the marriage, the couple must take this Civil Form for signing to the Church.

After signing by the Couple, Witnesses (best man and bridesmaid) and Priest, the couple must then return the Signed Form to the Registrar’s Office within 1 month of the marriage.

Registrar’s Office
Meath Enterprise Centre, Trim Rd, Navan. Phone 046 902 3209.

When you have completed your Pre-Marriage Course, you may start the process of completing all the necessary paperwork. Couples themselves should approach the priest or the Parish Office. The couple must then complete a Marriage Booking Form.

Get a copy of your Baptismal Certificate (issued within the previous 6 months) from the Church where you were Baptised. Get a Confirmation Certificate from the church where you were confirmed.

Fill in a Prenuptial Enquiry Form with your local priest. The Pre-Nuptial Enquiry Form ought to be completed no later than six months before the wedding is due to be celebrated.

If you do not reside in our parish, fill in a prenuptial form with your own local priest. He will then forward same to us.

Couples are advised to discuss the ceremony with the priest – readings, hymns, marriage rite etc.

The Sacristan will prepare the Church on the day – they would appreciate greatly any details – gifts, mics for singing, altar servers etc.

The use of extra candles in our Churches for wedding decoration is strictly disallowed under Church Insurance requirements. Flower decoration is recommended but removal of existing liturgical presentations is not allowed. Advice from the Sacristan is necessary.

We expect guests and visitors to observe a respectful silence in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

We try to make your Wedding Day a most memorable occasion and these suggestions should help avoid any unnecessary complications both leading up to and on the actual day. If you have any further suggestions to make, please contact one of the priests or the Parish Office.

• Both parties must be free to marry (no previous valid marriage)
• At least one party should be a baptised Catholic
• Twelve months’ notice to the parish is recommended
• Completion of an approved pre-marriage course
• Civil notification to the HSE Registrar (3 months)
• Two witnesses are required

• Baptismal Certificates (issued within 6 months)
• Confirmation Certificates
• Letters of Freedom (if from another parish/diocese)
• Civil Marriage Registration Form (from Registrar)
• Pre-Marriage Course Certificate
• Marriage Booking Form
• Pre-Nuptial Enquiry Form
• Death Certificate or Decree of Nullity (if applicable)