It is something that touches me deeply each time I experience a Christian wedding and each time I experience the sacramental love of husband and wife. We sometimes think of the wedding ceremony which establishes this covenant as belonging to the bride and groom, as if it were their wedding alone. They can invite whomever they want, sing their favorite songs and arrange the ceremony as they please, we might think. Clearly, a wedding has an intimate and personal relation to the bride and groom. In many important ways, it is their wedding.
Every marriage is important to the entire parish.
In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ. In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself forever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up. In the years to come, it may be impossible to celebrate the Eucharist for each couple who desire a Catholic wedding. The decreasing number of priests and the number of Masses each priest will be required to celebrate on any given weekend will make it increasingly difficult to have one or more nuptial Masses on Saturday. There are at least two possible solutions to this situation.