Marriage

Holy Matrimony is a life-changing event, and for good reason. God instituted marriage when He “created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27) Marriage is instituted to be an image of God.  Next He tells them, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). It is not something merely to have children, but is called to bear spiritual fruit. Ephesians 5:21-32 has one of the most beautiful explanations of marriage in scripture:

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body.  As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for herto sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
So (also) husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his) mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

Paul stresses how the couple not only imitates the love of God, but rather are the very instruments of God’s love to each other in marriage. In the love they communicate to each other, grace is given. This is why Holy Matrimony is so sacred. I hope you find it to be an encounter with God. To find out more about what the church teaches about marriage, click here.

Who can get the sacrament of marriage? The Marriage must be between one male and one female who are able to be married. This presumes that neither of the couple has been previously married. If they have been married, an annulment process will be needed before the sacrament can take place. To obtain the annulment, the person needs to contact their home parish and meet with the priest. The phone number for St Mary and St Joseph parish is 815-232-8271. Here is the Diocesan web site if you want to find out more. Once you get there look under “Tribunal” to find the brochures that will have the information you need on annulments.

How do I get a wedding date? You simply call your home parish and set up a time to start the process. Here at St Joseph and St Mary parishes, you will meet with the priest and start some of the paperwork. There will be about nine meetings with the priest with other requirements. There is a checklist below that may help in planning the sacramental part of the events.

These are the rules we have at these parishes.

To find out more about what the Catholic Church teaches about marriage, click here.

A)    Meetings with the Priest

Meetings with the Priest: (most meetings will take about an hour)

  1. Get to know priest, fill out Pre-nuptial Questionnaire and receive packet for the Marriage
  2. Fully Engaged test, expect about one and a half hours
  3. Go over results of Fully Engaged Test
  4. First session on the Fully Engaged Book
  5. Second session on the Fully Engaged Book
  6. Third Session on the Fully Engaged Book
  7. Fourth Session on the Fully Engaged Book
  8. Fifth Session on the Fully Engaged Book
  9. Sixth Session on the Fully Engaged Book
  10. Go over the ceremony

B)    Checklist

  1. Pre-nuptial Questionnaire: Call in and set up an appointment at 1-815-232-8271
  2. Fully Engaged test: Set up time with priest.
  3. Gift of Self Marriage Preparation Retreat: (Spanish) Click on the link and fill out the register form.
  4. NFP Seminar: This is no longer optional as of July 1st, 2023. Use the link to find the times. Fill out the form and send through the mail or call the phone number on the brochure.
  5. Witness Affidavit (two witnesses for the bride and two for the groom, usually parents or family. Call in to meet with the priest or deacon in the local Catholic Church to fill it out with you.)
  6. Baptismal Certificate for all who are baptized. Just contact place of Baptism and have them send a copy out. It should not cost anything.
  7. Marriage License (how to obtain)
  8. Contact Organist
    1. Gerry Reed
    2. Deb Roush
    3. Mary Ann Hasenour

C)    Rules

  1. Wedding_Special Event Guidelines and Policies at St Joseph
  2. Wedding_Special Event Guidelines and Policies at St Mary
  3. Guidelines of the Diocese: link to diocesan web site