Appendix P:  World Marriage Day

Sample Prayer Services & Liturgies
(Used with permission from Worldwide Marriage Encounter)

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The World Marriage Day Mass

While each parish or congregation may customize the fine points, many have developed a basic event that includes some of the following components:

A special service on WMD that has been promoted through pulpit announcements and bulletin ads. Advertise to get all couples and families to attend this special event. Promote attendance by couples celebrating milestones in their marriages.

Special floral arrangements for the church that might portray a wedding-like atmosphere.

Special decorations in the main entrance or lobby of church.

Reserved seating for couples celebrating 25, 30, 40, 50, and 60 years of marriage. A procession of couples could be made part of the gathering rite.

A special couples choir to sing songs pertaining to love, marriage and family.

A unity candle lit and displayed during the mass.

Couple married longest in attendance be the presenting couple of the gifts.

A special blessing of Married Couples.

Have the celebrant relate the readings to the sacrament of marriage.

Have the renewal of vows as part of the homily, or as a special ceremony after mass/service.

Have the priest or pastor honor those in attendance that are celebrating milestones in their marriages.

Reception style party or picnic following the mass/service, inviting all to attend.

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A Sample Renewal of Vows

(The celebrant invites the congregation to pray in silence as the couples renew before God their sacred matrimonial commitment to each other.)

Celebrant:

"Dear Friends, on your wedding day, you stood before the church's minister and the community and solemnly vowed your love. On this World Marriage Day, you stand before the community of faith as a reminder of the great beauty of the Sacrament/Covenant of Matrimony."

"You stand before your children who reflect the life and love you have given to them through your marriage."

"You stand before those who are living the single vocation in the Church. Your marriage vows complement their lives of commitment and service to the Lord's call."

"You stand before widows and widowers who recall the love and commitment given to their spouse."

"You stand before us as witnesses to the married love which Christ abundantly blessed on your wedding day. I invite you now to renew the promises you made in mutual and lasting fidelity."

Couples (repeat after the celebrant):

"I have taken you and take you again________, to be my spouse. I promise to be true to you in the good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

Celebrant:

"You have renewed your marriage vows before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your commitment and fill you with his blessings. Amen"

Final Blessing:

"Bow your heads and pray for God's blessing."

"May God the almighty Father, give you joy. Amen"

"May the only Son of God have mercy on you and help you in good times and in bad. Amen"

"May the Holy Spirit always fill your hearts with love. Amen"

"And may almighty God bless you all, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen"

Another Prayer:

"The Hands of Matrimony" by Larry & Mary Sue Eck and Fr. Tom Burr
(See Reference and Support Material for more information)

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Sample Homilies for World Marriage Day

Readings in the Roman Catholic Church

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings for Mass
First Reading: Leviticus13:1-2, 44-46
Responsorial Psalm: 32:1-2, 5, 11
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
Gospel: Mark 1:40-45

 

Sample Homily by Fr. Dennis Koopman, O.F.M.

The fatal disease AIDS still continues to spread, to infect more persons and to cause great concern in the world. We read about millions of the poor in developing countries who are infected with the disease and who do not have the money to keep it at bay. Not only is its impact felt in those areas but also in the realm of relationships, the financial world and skyrocketing insurance costs for hospitals and patients alike.

Some are saying that AIDS is the bubonic plague of our time, the leprosy of the 21st century. We live in a sophisticated, technological era where, to a large degree, science is answering many questions that past generations answered by appeal to a supreme being. Some Christians today would say that the place of the healing Christ, the Christ we heard about in today’s gospel, has been taken by the medical geniuses who pioneer new forms of antibiotics and immunizations.

Modern medicine can now cure leprosy for the cost of a can of soda. It can stop hemorrhaging, restart a heart, resuscitate with a machine. However, modern medicine can do little to heal hurt, loneliness and brokenness. We Christians invoke Christ’s presence and heal in his name. We believe that his presence has a healing effect on ourselves and others.

In Mark’s gospel today, when Jesus healed people, he stretched out his hand and touched them. Here, I think, is the key to the whole situation. We cannot underestimate the value of human touch. Human touch can sooth, reconcile and heal.

If we stretched out our hands to one another, if we touch each other’s lives – by our thoughts, our words, our feelings, our prayers – we shall become instruments of healing. So much illness today is of the mind and the emotions. As the great tuberculosis sanatoria of the 40s and 50s have emptied, the offices of psychiatrists have become full.

The leper in Mark’s gospel would be suffering today not from physical leprosy, but from emotional leprosy. The devils and evil spirits that possess so many of us today are those of neurosis, depression and many kinds of phobia. All those devils, those evil spirits – call them what you will – can only be driven out by massive does of T.L.C. -- tender loving care.

That is the antibiotic, the immunization we need from the moment we are born – no, even earlier: from the time we are in the womb right up until the moment we die.

I need it from you; you need it from me.

You can be my healer; I can be your healer.

Today we celebrate World Marriage Day. We celebrate this sacrament which can be the healing hand of Jesus to the People of God. If we use a search engine on the internet and we type in the phrase “Healthy Marriage”, you will find over 59,000 places to go to. All married couples want healthy marriages. The miracle of touch is one of the ways for a healthy marriage. When there is hurt between a husband and wife, the power of touch is so important for reconciliation. Parents with their healing touch can sooth their children, giving them the assurance and security that they have unconditional love. Married couples can reach out to others with a joyful touch helping others feel supported and connected. Think about the last time you were hurt or felt alone and then someone touched your face or gave you a hug. You felt comforted and reassured and not alone.

That is to be the pattern of our healing love for one another. You must stretch out your hand and touch me, feel for me, hope for me, wish me everything that is good. And I must reach out, hope for you, with everything that is good.

We thank married couples for living out their sacrament, for showing us that their love for each other somehow resembles the love of God for his people, for touching us with healing hand of our Lord. We also thank God for putting these couples in our midst.

 

Sample Homily by Fr. Dick Morse

Leprosy was one of the worst things that could befall a person in Jesus’ time. Not only did the disease eat away at the body causing sores and excruciating pain, but it forced the afflicted to sever all relationships with their families and friends. The leper had to leave the community and live an isolated existence. Violating the law, today’s leper comes to Jesus and begs him for a cure. He cries out, “If you wish, you can make me clean”, you can heal me. And Jesus, moved with pity did the unthinkable. He stretched out his hand and touched him as he said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately and he was healed. He became yet another witness to the healing power of Jesus – a power that continues in the Church especially in its sacraments.

Today we celebrate World Marriage Day, a time to thank God for the beautiful gift of the sacrament of Marriage. St. Paul reminds us that this sacrament reflects the love of God for his people, the Church. In this sacrament a man and woman enter into a covenant relationship with God. They commit themselves 100% to one another and invite God to be an integral and active part of their marriage relationship. God in turn equips them through their sacrament with everything they need to grow ever stronger in their love relationship. One of the chief graces God gives is the power to forgive and to heal.

Like the leper in today’s Gospel, married couples find themselves and their relationships in need of healing. Busyness, insensitivity, impatience, selfishness and, in some cases, infidelity, can eat away at a couple’s relationship. A couple find themselves disillusioned, hurting, and at odds with one another. They very much need a healing. What they sometimes fail to realize is they have the power to make this happen. Every couple in this church today has the power to heal and strengthen your relationship. That healing begins with forgiveness. Bury your pride and ask your spouse for forgiveness or open your heart and forgive your spouse. In that very act you release the healing power of your sacrament. Every married couple stands in need of healing from time to time. Be it a minor healing or a major one, Jesus wishes you to be healed just as much as he wished today’s leper to be healed. Claim that power of your sacrament and experience the joy of oneness that both you and God desire.

In a world where marriage is under attack, the Church and society need couples committed to making their relationships healthy and strong. A married couple deeply in love with one another becomes in turn a healing force and a sign of hope to married couples around you. And so on this World Marriage Day, we honor our parish’s married couples and thank you for the gift of your sacrament. We pray that God may continue to bless you with an ever deepening love for one another and ask you to continue being a sign of God’s healing love to all of us.

 

LITURGICAL MUSIC  SUGGESTIONS:

Entrance:  Blest Be the Lord (Dan Schultte:  New Dawn Music)

Preparation of the Gifts:  Hosea (Gregory Norbert:  Benedictine Foundation)

Communion:  On Eagle’s Wings (Michael Joncas: New Dawn Music)

Recessional:  Change Our Hearts (Rory Cooney: NALR)

All song suggestions are available in Glory & Praise Second Edition.

*Other churches samples are welcome.   Email:  tokraks@cox.net

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Sample General Intercessions

Option 1 (Husband & Wife to deliver)
Let us join in prayer for our special anniversary couples and for all married couples, knowing that God hears us whenever we pray.

Response:  Lord, make us one.

Husband:  That all husbands especially those here may have the wisdom and courage to help their wife grow and develop--in all her interests and talents--to become the best person she can possibly be. . .We pray to the Lord.

Wife:  That all wives especially those among us have the knowledge and the will to encourage their husband to grow and fulfill all the rich potential that lies within him. . .We pray to the Lord.

Husband:  That we may receive the gifts of patience and understanding in our relationship with our spouse and with our children in these changing times. . .We pray to the Lord.

Wife:  That all couples may be delivered from the dangers of boredom and routine which can erode the deepest love relationship. . .We pray to the Lord.

Husband:  For the courage to overcome fear and reveal ourselves more openly and honestly through more intimate communication. . .We pray to the Lord.

Wife:  That all our relatives, friends and neighbors may experience the joy of family love. . .We pray to the Lord.

Husband:  That all the families on earth may have the resources they need to lead happy, healthy and prayer-filled lives. . .We pray to the Lord.

Eternal Father, you love us so much that you gave us your only Son.   Grant that all who are in the union of marriage may reflect the beauty of your love and share it with others.  We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

(Add or substitute for one of the other petitions.)

Husband: That God bless our world with peace and soften the hearts of all terrorists, we pray to the Lord.

Wife: That God bless and keep safe, physically and spiritually, all our sons and daughters, husbands and wives who are serving in our armed forces throughout the world, we pray to the Lord.

 

Option II
From the Book of Blessing, The Roman Ritual New York:
Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1989 nos. 107-114

Celebrant: In the tender plan of His providence, God our almighty Father has given married love, its faithfulness (and its fruitfulness), a special significance in the history of salvation. Let us therefore call upon Him saying:  Lord hear our prayer.

For our Holy Father, our bishops and all priest and religious, that they may be faithful in their call to fidelity and service, let us pray to the Lord.

For all married couples, that God give them comfort and strength in each other and joy in their children, let us pray to the Lord.

For all those preparing for marriage, that God guide them to a deep appreciation of this Sacrament, let us pray to the Lord.

For widows and widowers, that God may comfort them with compassion, let us pray to the Lord.

For those who suffer the pain of a troubled marriage, separation or divorce, that God guide them into a future filled with hope, let us pray to the Lord.

For a greater respect for the dignity of marriage and family in our nation and society, let us pray to the Lord.

For all our deceased family members and those of our parish who have died in faith, let us pray to the Lord.

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Prayer of Blessing for Married Couples (with hands outstretched, the celebrant concludes the intercessions by saying:)

Almighty and eternal God, you have so exalted the unbreakable bond of marriage that it has become the sacramental sign of your Son's union with the Church as His spouse.  Look with favor on these married couples, whom you have united in marriage, as they ask for your help and the protection of the Virgin Mary.  They pray that in good times and in bad they will grow in love for each other; that they will resolve to be of one heart in the bond of peace.

Lord, in the struggles let them rejoice that you are near to help them; in their needs let them know that you are there to rescue them; in their joys let them see that you are the source and completion of every happiness.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.

AMEN

(At the discretion of the celebrant, a renewal of vows may follow.  Invite couples who wish to renew their vows to remain standing as the others are seated.)