Congratulations on becoming engaged! This is such a wonderful and exhilarating period in your life and we are delighted for you! The Sacrament of Matrimony is incredibly powerful and has the effect of forever joining you together in an unbreakable bond of love. Your marriage will also be a daily witness of God’s love in our parish and our world. At the Church of the Resurrection, we are eager to help you prepare for your future life as a spouse and parent, so please contact us as soon as possible so that we can help you to approach the Sacrament in a good way and provide everything you need to fulfill all that the Church expects of you as a couple.
On Marriage Preparation
Preparations for the Sacrament of Matrimony and your marriage begin at least 9 months prior to your wedding date. Please contact the parish office at (517) 482-4749 to begin the process of preparation or feel free to schedule your initial meeting with Fr. Steve here.
"Because Christian marriage is a Sacrament, the Catholic Church wants couples to be well-prepared. Dioceses and parishes offer marriage preparation to help couples develop a better understanding of the sacrament; to evaluate and deepen their readiness to live married life; and to gain insights into themselves as individuals and as a couple" (USCCB Guidelines on Marriage Preparation).
During these months of preparation, you should expect:
- An initial meeting with Fr. Steve, our pastor. At this meeting you will be given the Church of the Resurrection wedding manual.
- A meeting with a sponsor couple for 5-7 sessions, including 2 sessions filling out & discussing the FOCCUS inventory. A follow up meeting will be arranged with your sponsor couple about 6 months after your wedding to touch base about how everything is going.
- Attend 4 "WE CARE" communication classes. Upon completion, please send your completion certificate to Fr. Steve.
- Attend 4 Catholic Information classes, which are held at various Lansing parishes.
- Attend 3 Natural Family Planning sessions, 1 per month for 3 months.
*Engaged couples must contact the church where they were baptized and ask them to send a copy of their baptismal certificates to Church of the Resurrection Catholic Church.
Wedding Mass Details
Six months prior to the wedding, you will begin the practical arrangements for the wedding itself, such a arranging and choosing music for the Sacrament, deciding on which scripture passages will be read, drawing up the Prayers of the Faithful, and so on.
"It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human being. This makes is all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own faithfulness they can witnesses to God's faithful love. Spouses who with God's grace give this witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community" (CCC #1648). At the Church of the Resurrection, we are here to help you prepare for the Sacrament of Matrimony and more importantly for the marriage you are about to embark upon!
This Sacrament, like Holy Orders, is "directed towards the salvation of others, if [it contributes] as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others that [it does] so." The Sacrament of Matrimony "[confers] a particular mission in the Church and [serves] to build up the People of God" (CCC #1534-1535).
