Marriage

What God has joined, men must not divide.

wedding-at-cana-icon-462Marriage is not an “event”, but rather a “Sacrament”.  It is a true “vocation”, a call given by God to the spouses to bear witness to the love which exists between Christ and His Church.

The husband must become  like Christ. The wife must become like the Church.  Both must give themselves in love and service to each other in order to “show” the world how Christ loves His Church, His Bride – and how the Church should serve Christ faithfully.

The Sacrament of Matrimony involves a death to the individualism of “I” and “mine” – and a coming into existence of “we” and “ours”.

Wife and husband constitute one single body, and they commit their lives to Jesus Christ to form a Christian family and to make of their conjugal union a union that is physical, emotional, moral and spiritual; that is to say, it must be a union called to be TOTAL and FOREVER.

To celebrate the holy Sacrament of Matrimony in St. Jude Church, following the regulations of the Archdiocese of Miami, it is necessary to observe the following requisites (and the couple themselves must do it, not parents, relatives, friends or a private wedding coordinator):

  1. The couple must obtain a letter of permission from their local churches giving them permission to be married at St. Jude Church.
  1. Once you have those letters, they must contact our office to make an appointment with the wedding coordinator. Only at that time can the date and time be arranged.  Weddings can be held on Friday at 5:00 or 7:00 PM; Saturdays at 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM.  The couple can bring their own priest, or our priest is available.
  1. The couple must begin to assemble the marriage file, which should include: certificates of baptism, confirmation and communion [updated within six months of the wedding], pre-Cana and FOCUS courses, forms A and B. All documents must be original.

The donation is $2,000 (this does not include music or flowers).

Remembering  once again that Matrimony is a Sacrament, and not an event, all guidelines  with respect to: rehearsal, music, lowers, photos, videos, behavior in the church, and all other details, will be explained by the wedding coordinator to the couple and are to be respected in  their totality, with no exception.