November 5, 2016 we continue our diaconate journey…and met for our Diaconate formation class at Alemany High School in Mission Hills. Our next class will be on November 17th and will be here as well. (Please click here to read all of our experiences of the bi-monthly Deacon formation classes)
This week we were honored to have Fr. Joel Hensen speak to us on the sacrament of Matrimony.
The main document that we used was the new “Order of Celebrating Matrimony”. This Rite, like all of the others, contain an introduction. This introduction describes the following: the Importance and Dignity of the Sacrament of Matrimony, the Duties and Ministries, the Celebration of Matrimony, and Adaptations to Be Prepared by the Conference of Bishops. There are also four chapters: The order of Celebrating Matrimony within Mass, The Order of Celebrating Matrimony without Mass, The order of Celebrating Matrimony between a Catholic and a Catechumen or Non-Christian
and Various Texts to Be Used in the Rite of Marriage and in the Mass For the Celebration of Marriage. Lastly, there is the Appendix. The Appendices has three sections: Examples of the Universal Prayer, The Order of Blessing an Engaged Couple, and the Order of Blessing a Married Couple within Mass on the Anniversary of Marriage.
We spent most of the class discussing the first three parts of the introduction and how it related to the various matrimony rites in the following chapters. The content in the introduction is very rich and is helpful to be prior to discussing marriage with a couple or witnessing the rite of matrimony. The term witnessing is used because, as a deacon, you would witness the marriage. The sacrament is conducted between the two who are getting married.
Father Joel encouraged the class to take part in Marriage preparation ministry within their parishes. While a great deal of the preparation is focused on the ceremony itself, it is important to work with couples who are making a lifelong commitment, that the marriage ceremony is an important time, the couple is beginning a life that can be filled with a multitude of challenges. We, as a community, need to assist those who are considering marriage in the Church, which is a public ceremony, to understand the love that God has freely given to all of creation. This is the foundation of our faith, God’s Love, Free, and Exclusive for Life. This is how God loves, we, who are created in the divine image of God, live the same commitment, in marriage.
And our Diaconate Journey continues…
If you have any questions about what we have experienced in the diaconate (aka “that deacon thing”), please ask us or send us an e-mail to gbmom_01_02@yahoo.com.
If you are interested in becoming a Deacon or a Deacon Couple for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, please contact:
Diaconate Formation Office Archdiocese of Los Angeles
3424 Wilshire Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2241 213-637-7383
Candy & Jay Krueger, Diaconate Formation, Year V,
Holy Family Church, South Pasadena, CA