Around the issues of belonging and communion, marriage is front and center. Setting aside the flagrant disregard for the obvious nature of marriage today, Catholics of goodwill can still be more than confused in regards to what weddings they can/should attend and which they ought not. To answer some of these questions we asked Fr. Bryan Jerabek, Canon Lawyer, Pastor & Rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham about clarity.
In the first place, what is the “purpose” of attending a wedding?
A Catholic marriage ceremony—whether it’s a full-blown Nuptial Mass or only a Liturgy of the Word—is first and foremost an act of worship of the Triune God. The way that most marriages are celebrated today tends to obscure this fact. For example: How often is it the case that people do not stand when the priest and servers enter, but only when the bride enters? This phenomenon is quite widespread and is a...
