Marriage Resources

​Christians share in the life of the Risen Christ through baptism. When they give themselves to each other in marriage they are taking on Christ’s willingness to live a life of love publically, faithfully and enduringly. Therefore the love between two married Christians is a sign of Jesus’ love for the Church and makes that love present and active in the community of the family, sometimes described as ‘the domestic church’ and in the community of the Church, the Body of Christ.

The couple who marry receive from the Lord the grace and responsibility to love each other always, to be faithful to each other, to sustain the bond of their love through good times and bad, and to give life and nurture to the children they may conceive.

​The celebration of marriage is always based on the mutual commitment of each person to give themselves willingly and freely to living the marriage covenant of faithful and fruitful love.

The church’s way of celebrating this significant beginning of new life together offers many gifts. It provides for a dignified ceremony, warm yet solemn, worthy of the occasion. In its words, actions and symbols it encourages reflection on Christian marriage, both by the couple in their preparation and in the celebration, and also by all who participate in the ceremony. Christian marriage invites us to look deeply at God’s love for us, to see in that love a mirror of what human love may aspire to become because God’s love is embodied in the couple who marry.
The Liturgy of Marriage
The three forms of the order of Christian Matrimony are:
  1. The Order for Celebrating Marriage during Mass
  2. The Order of Celebrating Marriage outside of Mass
  3. The Order of celebrating Marriage between a Catholic and an Unbaptised person

​Care needs to be taken that the appropriate form is chosen in each case. The charism, dignity and culture of each person is to be respected and acknowledged.

Couples are strongly encouraged to actively participate in the preparation for their marriage ceremony by choosing from the wide range of texts, readings and hymns offered to them. Early contact with diocesan Marriage Preparation Co-ordinators and with the priest and parish where they wish to be married will enable them to come together with family and friends to celebrate a ceremony that is truly worthy of their love and the covenant they are about to enter into (NZ Bishops Conference).

To arrange your Catholic wedding, please phone the Parish Office to speak with one of our priests.

Please make use of the resources provided below to help plan your Catholic wedding.