The Sacrament of Matrimony, or Marriage, is one of the two Sacraments of Vocation of the Church. Vocational sacraments give the grace of God throughout the life of the person and not simply at the ceremony itself. By the grace of this Sacrament, God fits two people for a lifelong commitment to each other. And by doing so, God reveals to the entire world his love for us.
In all sacraments, God makes use of external signs that are easily understandable by people without having to be taught their meaning. In Baptism, for example, God uses water, because we all know from experience that water makes things clean. In the Holy Eucharist, God uses food and drink to show that it is Jesus Christ who sustains our lives. Now, in the Sacrament of Marriage, God uses the two people themselves. Instead of a thing, the symbol in Matrimony is the couple. By the exchange of their vows, and then by the day-by-day living out of those vows, God shows us something extraordinary.
For married love is by its very nature permanent (“until death do us part”), exclusive (“one man, one woman”), and life-giving (both in the spouses themselves and in their children). So when we see how a husband and wife relate to each other, we see all these qualities at work. And that, when seen through the eyes of faith, ought easily to remind us of the Love with which Jesus Christ gave his life on the Cross for us. God’s love for us is also permanent, exclusive, and life-giving. Married couples, by virtue of the sacrament they receive, are charged by God with the sacred task of showing the world what God’s love for us looks like. In their relationship, they make God’s love visible.
If you are interested in getting married at St. Frances Cabrini, prior to reserving a date, we ask the bride and groom to please call either Fr. Damian or Deacon Doug at the parish office 402-934-7706, to set up an initial meeting.
The Archdiocese of Omaha requires that marriage preparation begin at least six months prior to the wedding. Popular dates in the spring and fall can be booked up to a year or more prior to the wedding. Below you will find a link to a document with information and answers to particular questions concerning weddings and marriage preparation. You can right click on the link to save the PDF to your computer for future reference.