preface

L1

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.

For you have forged the covenant of Marriage

as a sweet yoke of harmony

and an unbreakable bond of peace,

so that the chaste and fruitful love of holy Matrimony

may serve to increase the children you adopt as your own.

By your providence and grace, O Lord,

you accomplish the wonder of this twofold design:

that, while the birth of children brings beauty to the world,

their rebirth in Baptism gives increase to the Church,

through Christ our Lord.

Through him, with the Angels and all the Saints,

we sing the hymn of your praise,

as without end we acclaim:


L2

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,

through Christ our Lord.

For in him you have made a new covenant with your people,

so that, as you have redeemed mand and woman

by the mystery of Christ’s Death and Resurrection,

so in Christ you might make them partakers of divine nature

and joint heirs with him of heavenly glory.

In the union of husband and wife

you give a sign of Christ’s loving gift of grace,

so that the Sacrament we celebrate

might draw us back more deeply

into the wondrous design of your love.

And so, with the Angels and all the Saints,

we praise you, and without end we acclaim:


L3

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.

For you willed that the human race,

created by the gift of your goodness,

should be raised to such high dignity

that in the union of husband and wife

you might bestow a true image of your love.

For those you created out of charity

you call to the law of charity without ceasing

and grant them a share in your eternal charity.

And so, the Sacrament of holy Matrimony,

as the abiding sign of your own love,

consecrates the love of man and woman,

through Christ our Lord.

Through him, with the Angels and all the Saints,

we sing the hymn of your praise,

as without end we acclaim: