By choosing to married in the Catholic Church, a couple is taking the first step to making their relationship open to the grace of God in a special way, and allowing their lives to be a sacrament. This sacrament (the couple’s married life) as is the case with all sacraments of the church, is an “outward sign” of the presence of God’s Spirit and grace dwelling within our world and lives today. Therefore, as a sacrament, a couple’s marriage is to be a living sign and reminder of God’s goodness, faithfulness, mercy and love for all of us.

As a couple prepares themselves to assume the responsibility of living the sacrament of marriage, the church offers many resources to aid them. However, the primary responsibility for being prepared and ready married life lies with the couple themselves. This includes not only the daily aspects of married life, but also the couple preparing themselves “spiritually” for this sacrament.

When anyone expresses a desire to receive one of the sacraments of the Church, they must prepare themselves not only intellectually, but also spiritually for that sacred gift. In general this preparation takes one school year (8 months) for the sacraments of Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Confirmation. It takes seven years of preparation for Holy Orders (priesthood) and 9 months for the sacrament of marriage. Common to the preparation for all of these sacraments is the need to reflect on one’s relationship with God and the church, the spiritual meaning (benefits and personal responsibility) of that sacrament, and how God is personally involved in one’s life. There are many ways of doing this, but the basics of “spiritual preparation” involve:

The marriage preparation program itself consists of the following:

For further information about the Marriage Preparation Program in our parish please call Fr. David Hudgins at (517) 265-8938 or email him at office@stjosephadrian.com