ITALY

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WEDDING

• ITALY

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THE CATHOLIC MARRIAGE
The sacrament of marriage is the symbol of the
union of Christ and his Church. It gives the
bride and the groom the grace to love each other
just like Christ loves his Church. So the grace
of this sacrament makes perfect the human love of
the spouses, it reinforces the indissolubility of
their union and it sanctifies them in their way
towards the eternal life. Marriage gives the
spouses a special grace to live out their
marriage as a symbol of Christs love for his
bride the Church.
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THE CATHOLIC MARRIAGE
Through marriage, the spouses devote themselves
to each other, they join in a community of
indissoluble life and, giving birth to children,
they become Gods co-operators in the great
mystery of creation. The spouses, blessed and
consecrated by Gods love, give life at home, to
a small family, a domestic church, and they
become an instrument and a symbol of salvation
for each other.
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MARRIAGE IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
Marriage between man and woman has been
prefigured in the Bible since the very first
pages of the Genesis therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother and shall cleave
unto his wife, they are no longer two but one
flesh. (Gn 2)In the Song of Songs the loving and
nuptial language stands out the scene grooms
love for his bride becomes the image of Gods
love for his Church. In the New Testament, Jesus
confirms the words of the Old Alliance and
confirms the fact that marriage is saint and
indissoluble because it has been established by
God himself.
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THE ELEMENTS OF MARRIAGE
The spouses are ministers of marriage since they
freely exchange their consent before the priest
and the whole christian community. The ritual
formula of marriage, called canonical is I
take you, to be my wife/husband, to have and to
hold from this day forward for better or for
worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in
health, to love and to cherish from this day
forward until death do us apart.
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MARRIAGE IN HISTORY
During the first three centuries of the history
of church, it didnt exist a specific rite to
celebrate marriage. In the IV century there was
the custom to bless the brides veil during the
celebration of the Mass. Marriage, blessed by the
Bishop, produced its civil rights only after the
falling of the Roman Empire and the establishment
of the ecclesiastic right.
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MARRIAGE IN HISTORY
From the VIII century on, it has been recognized
the civil validity to the marriage celebrated in
a church and it has been recognized only the
consent the spouses express before the priest.
Actually, until 1300 the consent came before the
celebration of the Mass nowadays the consent is
expressed during the Mass. The Council of Trent
recognized marriage as a sacrament and
determined the rite that lasted till the
establishment of the liturgic reform of the
Vatican Council II.
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CUSTOMS
After the religious rite, the spouses have a
wedding feast with their relatives and friends.