Marriage is still ‘for better, for worse’

The best-known words in the celebration of marriage are retained in a new English text approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship.

The words, beginning: “To have and to hold from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer …” survive in the new order which will be used from Easter.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, a former member of Vox Clara, the commission that oversees translations, welcomed the news.

“These words are much loved, most of us know them by heart,” the cardinal told The Tablet.

Martin Foster, director of the Liturgy Office for England and Wales, agreed.

“I think we would lose more than gain by changing those words. They shape what we understand marriage to be about. There’s the idea that we pray what we believe and we believe what we pray,” said Mr Foster.

The bishops emphasise that a favourite poem or song is not appropriate for the marriage liturgy and is best left for the wedding reception. They say any reading for the Liturgy of the Word should be taken from the Bible and must include one explicitly on the subject of marriage such as John’s account of the Wedding at Cana.

The Order of Celebrating Matrimony includes a longer introduction giving a full exploration of the theology of marriage drawn from Second Vatican Council documents. It is expected that it will be used as a resource in marriage preparation. The volume also includes blessings for engaged couples and for married couples on their anniversary. The former can be done as part of marriage preparation and can be conferred by a layperson such as a parent, as well as a priest or deacon. The blessing for anniversaries takes place during Mass and is conferred by a priest.

“These blessings are recognition that the sacrament is but one stage and we have interest in marriage as a whole, not just the wedding,” said Mr Foster.

A new element in the order is a chapter on marriage “in the presence of an assisting layperson” to be used in situations where a priest is not available. It is intended for places where priests are scarce, such as remote villages in Africa, where bishops give permission for catechists or other laypeople to celebrate marriages.

There is also a new translation of the Order of Confirmation. Both books are to be published by the Catholic Truth Society in January 2016.

Speaking of the new translation, the chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, Archbishop George Stack, said: “These new translations explore the riches of the scriptural, theological and pastoral implications of the beautiful moments of life in which we encounter God in deeper ways in Confirmation and in Marriage. They reflect the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matthew 13:51).”