Holy Matrimony

"Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:23-25).
 

Holy Matrimony (or the Sacrament of Marriage) is the intimate union and equal partnership of a man and a woman. It comes to us from the hand of God, who created male and female in his image, so that they might become one body and might be fertile and multiply (See Genesis chpt 1-2). Though man and woman are equal as God’s children, they are created with important differences that allow them to give themselves and to receive the other as a gift.

Holy Matrimony is a grace-filled encounter with God, and a way to holiness. As such, preparing for marriage is about more than planning the wedding, so at St. Joseph Church, we take seriously our role in preparing couples for holy matrimony.

• The spirituality of marriage
• Having an openness to life
• Relationship dynamics
• Communication
• Conflict management
• An understanding of the various stages of marriage
• An exploration of differences and potential areas of conflict
• Insights into the importance of faith and a faith community

All of these ingredients are built into our marriage preparation program at St. Joseph. Couples meet with a priest or deacon to begin the process and set the date, and then periodically afterward. A PMI (Pre-Marriage Inventory) is done to help the couple identify areas of strength and areas of potential conflict, so that issues can be addressed early. Couples attend a local Pre-Marriage seminar that features talks and discussion on aspects of sacramental marriage. Couples will then meet with an assigned "sponsor couple" four times to discuss and share practical ways that our Catholic Faith and marriage together can help them experience the true joy of Christian marriage. The majority of couples, at the end of their experience, have commented that their meetings with St. Joseph Mentor Couples have been the highlight of thier marriage preperation and wished they could continue.

Our prayer is that St. Joseph's marriage preparation helps our couples to be strong together. That by example, they will become a light to the world, and not a future divorce statistic. It’s an intensive approach, but one that we believe makes a difference.

►IMPORTANT: For the Sacrament of Marriage, St. Joseph Catholic Church exclusively serves our parish community. Please download our wedding information brochure. To inquire about having your wedding at St. Joseph, please use our contact form or call 248-693-0440.

1. Wedding Intake Form (submit no later than 1 month prior to wedding date)
2. Wedding music choices (to help you choose the music for your wedding)