Last updated on 31 July 2024
Marriage is the intimate union and equal partnership of a man and a woman. It comes to us from God who created male and female in His image, so that they might become one body and might be fertile and multiply (Genesis – Chapters 1 & 2).
In seeing Marriage between two baptised persons as a sacrament, the Church is saying that the couple’s relationship expresses in a unique way the unbreakable bond of love between Christ and his people.
In Marriage God’s love becomes present to the spouses in their total union and also flows through them to their family and community. By their permanent, faithful and exclusive giving to each other, symbolised in sexual intercourse, the couple reveals something of God’s unconditional love. The Sacrament of Christian Marriage involves their entire life as they journey together through the ups and downs of marriage and become more able to give to and receive from each other. Their life becomes sacramental to the extent that the couple cooperates with God’s action in their life and sees themselves as living “in Christ” and Christ living and acting in their relationship, attitudes and actions.
Sacraments bring grace to those who receive them. Grace is a way of describing how God shares divine life with us and gives us the help we need to live as followers of Christ. In Marriage, the grace of this sacrament brings to the spouses the particular help they need to be faithful and to be good parents. It also helps a couple to serve others beyond their immediate family and to show the community that a loving and lasting marriage is both desirable and possible.
@St John’s
Marriages require lots of preparation, so usually at least six months notice is required. You are welcome to select any of the priests on the parish team, or to have your own priest celebrate the wedding. Contact the parish office to check availability.
Other Marriage information is available on our website:
Engaged to be Married?
Congratulations! We rejoice with you during this special time as you prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage.
Catholic Marriage is a little different to civil marriage. It is meant to be a sign of the love God has for each of us. Therefore, Catholic marriage has the same qualities as God’s love; freely given, total, faithful and fruitful.
It’s not always easy to love like God – as human beings we are limited and sometimes selfish making it hard for us to love perfectly. Although loving each other might seem easy to you now, your love will likely be tested in the future by the challenges of life.
That’s why all our engaged couples participate in a marriage preparation course. This course will equip you with practical tools from contemporary relationship science as well as assisting your celebrant in preparing you spiritually to enter the Sacrament of Matrimony.
As it can get very busy in the weeks before the wedding, you should start this course as soon as possible. In our parish, the following courses are available.
SmartLoving Engaged: Online Marriage Preparation – Consisting of 9 lessons, you progress through the course at your own pace, doing the couple activities as you go. There is an option for a married Sponsor Couple from your community to accompany you through the course. www.smartloving.org/wollongong
CatholicCare Partnership
With the help of a supportive facilitator, strengthen your connection with a personalised snapshot of your relationship. Gain personal insights and a deeper and shared understanding of your relationship and learn how other couples cope with life’s stressors, honour their commitment, grow, heal, and express themselves.
Topics include: The Sacrament of Marriage; Marital Spirituality; Natural Family Planning; Finance; Family of Origin; Communication; Sexuality and Creating Intimacy; Resolving Conflict; Parenting
– Phone (02) 4628 0044 Campbelltown or (02) 4227 1122 Wollongong
– Website catholiccare.dow.org.au/
