Catholic wedding vows are the formal expression of matrimonial consent that establish a lifelong, sacred covenant between a bride and groom.
Standard Formulas of Consent
The Catholic Wedding Help resource outlines the official texts approved by the Church:
✓ Standard Latin Rite Form: Both the groom and bride state:
"I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."
✓ Alternative Form (Common in the United States): Spouses vow: "...to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."
Key Meanings Behind the Words
✓ A Covenant, Not a Contract:
Marriage is viewed as a permanent, sacred commitment before God rather than a temporary agreement.
✓ Spouses as Ministers:
The couple confers the sacrament upon each other through their free consent, while the clergy acts as the official witness.
✓ Unconditional Commitment:
Vows emphasize that promises remain absolute regardless of future trials.
Popular Gospel Readings
✓ The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-19).
✓ “No longer two, but one flesh." (Mark 10:1-12).
Popular Old Testament Readings
✓ “The two of them become one body."(Genesis 2:18-19).
✓ “May grow old together." (Tobit 8:4-8)
✓ “For love is strong as death” (Song of Songs 2:8-17)
Popular New Testament Readings
✓ “Love is patient, love and kind." (1 Corinthians 13:4-13).
✓ "life and death"
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.b(Romans 8:11).
✓ Renunciation of vice (Colossians 3:12-17).
✓ The Christian Family (Colossians 3:28:21).
Posts
