IF YOU ARE Viewing this page because you are interested in the Catholic Church's teaching on the Sacrament of Marriage, then "Welcome." But if you are here because you wish to be married at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Westville, then, "CONGRATULATIONS!"

2. COHABITATION BEFORE MARRIAGE

Earlier this year, the Bishops of Kansas addressed one of the profound ills of our contemporary culture in a joint statement on cohabitation before marriage. One hardly knows where to begin when engaging the modern world on this issue, and the Bishops did a good job. You'll find it at Co-habitation? WWJD?

Another report on the problems of Cohabitation: try Marriage Preparation and Cohabiting Couples: an Information Report on New Realities and Pastoral Practices.

What you need to do for your marriage at St. Mary's Catholic Church.

First,

Congratulations

on you impending marriage! Now that you are planning your marriage the first thing that you need to do is to contact your parish priest. Your pastor will then schedule a first of six meetings that need to take place prior to your marriage. Also required is to attend the Diocesan workshops called Pre-Cana. See the chart above for the Diocesan schedule. Father will explain these workshops to you during your first meeting at which time you can reserve the church for your date and time.

The following is an official statement for all Catholic Parishes issued by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in accord with the prescriptions of canon 1067 and with due regard for canon 1068, hereby decrees that the following norms shall be observed in preparation of a couple for marriage:

(1) The couple should receive appropriate education and pastoral preparation through participation in a marriage preparation program approved by the diocesan bishop;
(2) Parties should be questioned as to their freedom to marry;
(3) Baptized Catholics should present a recently issued annotated baptismal certificate;
(4) Where necessary, additional documentation (such as affidavits of parents) attesting to a Catholic party's freedom to marry should be presented;
(5) Baptized non-Catholics should present satisfactory proof of baptism and freedom to marry;
(6) Unbaptized persons should present satisfactory proof of freedom to marry;
(7) Preparation for marriage should be in conformity with the prescriptions of canon 1063 (regarding what must precede marriage) and canons 1064, 1071, 1072, 1086b and 1125, which entrust certain situations to the special care of local ordinaries;
(8) Preparation for marriage should be in compliance with appropriate civil laws.
Effective date: Dec. 1st, 2000...signed by Most Reverend Joseph Fiorenza, Bishop of Galveston-Houston, President, NCCB

Back to chart.

Two marriages: your's & the Bride of Chirst's--the Church.

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Let us pray to Jesus through Saint Raphael the Archangel in order to help all our friends who are called to marry a good Catholic spouse...
Dear Saint Raphael, you found a wife for Tobit, and you have been bringing together husbands and wives ever since. We ask you to help our friends who are open to marriage find the perfect spouse, the spouse who was designed from all eternity to form a sacramental union that will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God, and reflect the love of Christ for His bride, the Church. Prepare the husband to suffer for his wife as Christ suffered for our salvation. Help the wife remain pure and holy in anticipation of her husband. Do not delay, O powerful Archangel! O Jesus, the daily life of the Church is marriage and family, love and life, life and love, grace from above, so look not on our faults, but on the faith of your brothers and sisters. Amen.

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In addition to meetings with the priest, couples are required to meet the following requirements for marriage in the Diocese of Peoria: PRE-CANA Part One & Part Two.

PART ONE: a or b

PART TWO: a or b

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Advice articles on marriage.

COHABITATION DAMAGES MARRIAGE, WOMEN

LONDON (CWNews.com) -- The rising trend toward cohabitation before marriage has a detrimental effect on women, according to a new study by the British charitable agency CARE. CARE found that couples who live together prior to marriage are twice as likely to divorce once they do marry. Also, unmarried women living with male partners are more likely than their married counterparts to suffer from anxiety and depression; 13.3 percent of the unmarried women have such problems, as opposed to 8.6 percent of the wives. The trend toward cohabitation is a strong one. In the mid 1960s about 5 percent of British women lived with their future husbands before marriage; by the 1990s that figure had risen to about 70 percent.

MARRIAGE LESS POPULAR WITH YOUNG AMERICANS

NEW YORK (CWNews.com) -- The proportion of American women who marry each year has been cut nearly in half in the past 36 years, while the number of couples living together outside of marriage has increased almost tenfold, according to a Rutgers University study. The National Marriage Project at Rutgers has released statistics showing that for every 1,000 American women above the age of 15, 49.7 were married in 1996, while in 1960 that figure was 87.5. At the same time, the number of unmarried couples living together soared from 439,000 to 4.2 million. Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, one of the directors of the Marriage Project, explained the statistics to Reuters by saying: "The current generation has grown up in the midst of the divorce revolution, so they are extremely wary and cautious about entering into marriage."

WEDDING GIFT GUIDE
Buying a wedding gift? We’ll help you research the best gift to buy, and where to shop for it online. Planning your gift registry? Our Wedding Gift Guide will help you make the best-informed selections. It features helpful buying advice on everything from kitchen appliances to sheets and towels to home entertainment gear.
http://www.ConsumerReports.org/main/redirect/content.jsp?PATH=/media/content/news/WeddingGuide/index.html

News items from 'New York News', The Dispatch & the Rock Island Argus, "Wedding stress tip: Laugh!

NEW YORK--

The bridesmaids hate their dresses. Cousin Tilly wants to bring her tantrum-throwing 2 year old twins. And dear old Mom just has a few final thoughts on the buffet, the bouquet and the band.

"Oh, and about those seating arrangements, dear...."

Just as grooms know about nuptial jitters, brides can speak volumes on wedding stree--those pull-your-hair-out moments when plans seem to backfire and all you can really count on is something (perhaps everything) going wrong.

"As the days get nearer to the wedding, the stress grows and tempers flare," warned wedding comsultant Harriette Rose Katz of Gourmet Advisory Services, Inc., who sends brides off to a spa when they're really frazzled.

"They have to realize tht the stresses get even worse," Katz added. "Keep a sense of humor; that is the key." Now that big weddings are back in vogue--with 150 or more guests, multiple bridesmaids and groomsmen, and lavish budgets to match--modern brides have more to worry about than ever: Here's a list, and some solutions:

Budget and family stress. Wedding consultant Amy Connor of An Affair to Remember said money can spark family tensions, especially between mother and daughter.