“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends.” St. Paul
Marriage Ministry
Marriage is more than a wedding service – it is a lifelong journey of love and faith. A couple decides to marry when two people realize that their lives have become so united that the very center of their identity has shifted – they are more themselves TOGETHER than they were apart. They are most themselves where they are no longer only themselves; they face the world as a unit; the two have become one in love.
And don’t forget, God IS love – in loving each other, whether you know it or not, you are discovering and honoring God within you.
The art of marriage is to be faithful to that journey, and to the unity of spirits proclaimed at your wedding ceremony, “In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.” While easy to say, these words are profoundly challenging to live. they will call upon you to love each other selflessly. When the promise is made, time lies before you – a vast unknown. But we know that there will be good times to enjoy and savor, and there will be bad times that test the strength of your love. At sometime or other there will be sickness, and one of you will need the other to be there to comfort, and to help, and to console.
The years will change you - your bodies will become old, your children will grow up and leave, your circumstances will be unpredictable.
Every moment of this journey, even the hardest, is precious. Every single moment!
My goal is to help you prepare for that journey as we also plan a wedding service that reflects you and your unique love story. Your service should not only be beautiful and sacred – you can also consider it your gift to your loved ones. By sharing your deep, abiding love for each other with them, you invite them to rediscover and recommit themselves to loves in their own lives.
You may have had a difficult time locating a priest or minister for your wedding because you are not members (or active members) of a church congregation. Your pastor may be unwilling to officiate at your wedding at the time or place of your choosing. Or your church may have turned you away because of some life circumstance – as happens frequently to couples who are living together, or who are divorced, or pregnant. Perhaps your family's diverse religious background requires a post-denominational minister. Or you may simply be turned off by the rigidity and inflexibility of the corporate Catholic church.
Regardless of why you come to me, you can be certain that I won't turn you away or judge you for any reason. I will work with you to prepare for a marriage that's built to last a lifetime, with God at its center; and to plan a ceremony that expresses your faith and your personalities - and at which you feel blessed by the Love that has called you to love each other - and that is the True Anchor, the Still Point, in you changing lives.
I can be reached at fatherrich@mac.com, or you can call me at 914-804-1944