Deacon Modesto Cordero, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, holds up a copy of “The Order of Celebrating Matrimony” at a seminar discussing the newly revised text, Sept. 13 at St. Stephen Diocesan Center in Kaneohe. ( HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
“We gather today to learn about the revised Order of Celebrating Matrimony. May we be reminded of how we can better serve engaged couples, husbands and wives, and their families in order to build up God’s kingdom here on earth.”
A packed room of more than 70 priests, deacons and lay ministers began a three-hour workshop at St. Stephen Diocesan Center Sept. 13 with that prayer. They came together for the second of five sessions hosted by the diocese to discuss the newest edition of the liturgical text used for weddings.
Deacon Modesto Cordero, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, and diocesan judicial vicar Father Mark Gantley, who heads the Office of Canonical Affairs, led the workshop titled “Welcoming the Order of Celebrating Matrimony.”
Deacon Cordero and Father Gantley traveled to Hilo last month for the first of these seminars. Sept. 13 they hosted Oahu parish staff and clergy. Upcoming sessions will be held on Kauai Oct. 15 at Immaculate Conception School in Lihue, on Maui at St. Theresa Church in Kihei Oct. 19, and in the West Hawaii vicariate Oct. 26 at Immaculate Conception Church in Holualoa.
Earlier this year, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a Decree of Publication for a revised English translation of the Order of Celebrating Matrimony. This ritual text, he noted, can be implemented beginning Sept. 8, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Use of the new text will be mandatory from Dec. 30, the Feast of the Holy Family. No other English translation of the Order of Celebrating Matrimony will be permitted afterward in U.S. dioceses.
The revised Order of Celebrating Matrimony provides clarified guidelines on parts of the wedding liturgy, and as Father Gantley described, a “crisper” translation of prayers and vows. The introduction, appendix and Scripture readings approved for wedding ceremonies have been expanded as well.
New to this edition of the Order of Celebrating Matrimony are optional blessings for the popular Hispanic and Filipino traditions of the giving of arras (coins) and the placing of a lazo (cord) or veil around the couple.
During the Sept. 13 workshop at St. Stephen Diocesan Center, Deacon Cordero and Father Gantley went over these big and small changes and the timeline that led to the latest Order of Celebrating Matrimony edition.
History of the rite
Deacon Cordero began the session with a brief history of the Rite of Matrimony.
He noted that in 1963, bishops of the Second Vatican Council passed a document titled “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.” This document called for the revision of liturgical books, “so that the texts may express more clearly the holy things they signify and that the Christian people … are able to understand them with ease.”
In particular, the Second Vatican Council said the marriage rite should be “revised and enriched in such a way that it more clearly signifies the grace of the sacrament and imparts a knowledge of the obligation of the spouses.”
Blessed Paul VI, on March 19, 1969, promulgated the first Latin typical edition of the Rite of Matrimony. The official English translation was released later that year.
In 1991, a second Latin edition of the text “Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonium, editio typical altera” promulgated by St. John Paul II was published. This new edition had an enriched introduction and prayers, and updates to keep the rite current with canon law.
U.S. bishops approved a Spanish-language translation of this second Latin edition in 2005. The finalized “Ritual del Matrimonio” was published for use in U.S. dioceses in 2010.
An English translation of the “Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonium, editio typical altera” was approved by the U.S. bishops conference in 2013. After some fine-tuning of the text for grammar and punctuation in the last year, the latest English version of the Order of Celebrating Matrimony is ready for use in the states.
The new edition accounts for the changes St. John Paul II made in 1991, as well as incorporating cultural considerations and a sense of “equality” in the roles of the bride and groom in the wedding ceremony.
Overview of changes
Father Gantley in his presentation explained some of the “gifts” of the revised Order of Celebrating Matrimony. He said the new edition “reflects theology better” and allows “pastoral sensitivity” with an “emphasis on catechesis and evangelization,” as well as more flexibility and assistance for the bride and groom.
The judicial vicar quickly went over notable changes priests, deacons and marriage preparation ministers should be aware of.
The introduction to the revised Order of Celebrating Matrimony now has 44 paragraphs compared to 18 previously.
Among the new notes in the introduction that Father Gantley highlighted is the ideal that the priest who aids an engaged couple in marriage preparation should celebrate as well the wedding Mass. The introduction also details that clergy should use white or “festive” colored vestments whenever marriage is celebrated within a Mass.
Underscored is the prohibition of weddings on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. During Lent and on days “having a penitential character,” pastors are to counsel couples to “take in to account the special nature of that day.”
The new edition has two different addresses a priest can use to greet the bride and groom during the introductory rites of a wedding Mass. Suggestions are made as well for the groom to be included in the entrance procession along with the bride.
The Penitential Act is omitted at wedding liturgies. However, the Gloria is to be sung or recited at a Ritual Mass, even on weekdays in Advent and Lent.
Six new or newly translated options for the collect are now available.
Couples have more readings to choose from for the Liturgy of the Word, with nine approved from the Old Testament, 14 from the New Testament and 10 from the Gospels. A new rubric states, “at least one reading that explicitly speaks of marriage must always be chosen.”
The vows to be said by the bride and groom, or read by the priest to obtain their consent for the sacrament, have been freshly translated. Other blessings and prayers have been reworded throughout the text. During the blessing of the rings, the bride and groom now say to each other “receive this ring” instead of “take this ring.”
If culturally applicable, the new rite has a brief section on the blessing of arras (coins) after the giving of the rings. This tradition symbolizes prosperity and fruitfulness in marriage.
Another popular custom, the placing of a lazo (cord) or veil around the couple, can take place at the start of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
For couples signing a marriage record, a rubric states that this is to be done at the conclusion of the Mass either in the vesting room or in front of the congregation, but not on the altar.
Additional topics
Deacon Cordero, in the latter half of the “Welcoming the Order of Celebrating Matrimony” workshop, discussed the conditions and revisions for celebrating matrimony without Mass, as well as celebrating matrimony between a Catholic and a catechumen or non-Christian.
A deacon may preside at a wedding that does not take place within a Mass.
The Order of Celebrating Matrimony has an expanded appendix, which includes ritual guides for blessing an engaged couple and blessing a married couple within Mass on their anniversary. Examples for the Universal Prayer have also been added.
Father Gantley and Deacon Cordero briefly gave notes on music at weddings. They emphasized the importance of having couples meet with parish music ministers during the marriage preparation process. A handout was given with dozens of suggested hymns, psalms, instrumentals and music collections for weddings.
Workshop attendees were invited to ask questions at the end of the session. Several inquiries came up regarding the inclusion of the arras and lazo or veil in the new Order of Celebrating Matrimony, and the liturgical appropriateness of other cultural customs such as the lighting of a “unity candle” or mixing of sand.
Bishop Larry Silva at the session noted that the arras and lazo have deep historical roots. They are “not part of the (marriage) rite, but not contradictory” to it either, he said.
He is “not opposed” to the unity candle or blending of sand, but clergy and ministers must “be careful” when considering such additions to the wedding ceremony. It could be possible, however, that future editions of the marriage rite include other cultural customs.
“This is how liturgy develops in the history of the church,” Bishop Silva said. “Things do change.”
For more information on the Welcoming the Order of Celebrating Matrimony workshops and additional resources, contact the diocesan Office of Worship at 585-3342.
