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.
Preface: A. The dignity of the marriage covenant.
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 chaste and fruitful love
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,
as we sing the hymn of your praise,
without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts …
Preface: B. The great Sacrament of Matrimony.
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 man 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:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts…
Preface: C. Matrimony as a sign of divine love.
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 will 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,
as we sing the hymn of your praise,
without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts…