How does the Sacrament of Matrimony come about?

The Sacrament of Matrimony comes about through a promise made by a man and a woman before God and the Church, which is accepted and confirmed by God and consummated by the bodily union of the couple. Because God himself forms the bond of sacramental marriage, it is binding until the death of one of the partners. [CCC 1625-1631]

The man and the woman mutually administer the sacrament of Matrimony.

A sacramental marriage has three necessary elements: (1) free consent, (2) the affirmation of a lifelong, exclusive union, and (3) openness to children. [CCC 1644-1654]

Please read the Parish Wedding Policy – Kinnegad Parish

AS YOU PLAN TO GET MARRIED

Read carefully the booklet Planning Your Wedding Day (Accord)

Contact the Civil Registrar as soon as you can and make an appointment to meet with the registrar. The Registrar for Westmeath is located at The Health Centre, Longford Road, Mullingar. The Registrar for Meath is located at Civil Registration Office, Navan Enterprise Centre, Trim Road, Navan. You must meet The Registrar in person not less than three (3) months before your wedding.

Registrar for Westmeath, Health Centre, Longford Road, Mullingar

Registrar for Meath, Civil Regristration Office, Navan Enterprise Centre, Trim Road, Navan

You will need to reserve the church in which you hope to marry. Do this by calling on the local priest to check the church is available. Do not take anything for granted. Check and confirm that a priest is available for your ceremony.

To marry in church there are some things you need. Faith is probably not a thing – it’s much more personal than that – but it is a prerequisite for Catholic and Christian marriage. If you have drifted away from attending Sunday Mass or practicing your faith you might consider using the planning time toward your wedding as an opportunity to reconnect with the Church by starting to attend Sunday Mass. It’s just a thought. If neither of you attend Mass you really should consider a Catholic Wedding Ceremony Without Mass. Think about this and talk it through with your local priest.

Much easier, you both require a Baptism Certificate and a Confirmation Certificate. These are to be located at the place where your baptism and confirmation took place. The certificates demonstrate that you are formally a member of the church. You each require a Letter of Freedom. This is a note from your local priest that you are free to marry i.e. that there is no reason preventing you getting married. Strictly speaking you need a Letter of Freedom from each parish in which you lived since becoming 18 years. If this proves difficult you can ask for the parish form ‘Declaration of Freedom to Marry’ which you can arrange to complete.

You are required to undertake formal marriage preparation. This is the Pre – Marriage Course. The course should be completed six months before your marriage. Book a course with ACCORD as soon as you can. Details are posted in church or at www.accord.ie or accordmullingar@eircom.net

When you have thought about, and completed all the above arrange to see your local priest to complete the Pre – Nuptial Enquiry Form. Do not leave this to the last minute! You should arrange to complete the Form three months before your wedding.

There is a charge involved if you plan to get married in Kinnegad Parish. This is set at €400.00. It should be paid by cheque/postal order in favour of “Kinnegad Parish” one month before your wedding. This payment will be lodged to The Parish Building & Development Fund.

If you are unclear at any time about what you need to be doing as you plan to marry in church or feel you need some assistance with the wedding ceremony [appropriate readings, music etc…..] simply contact your local priest.

Getting Married Abroad: There are some specific requirements if you plan to get married abroad in a Catholic ceremony. Details can be obtained from The Parochial House. The paperwork aspect of your marriage abroad takes some time. You should give notice of your intention to marry abroad one year before the date of your wedding.

Inter-Church Marriages: We Christians have so much in common through our union in Christ that it is not surprising that we want to share our lives. The parish is delighted to offer you whatever information and support you require as you plan for marriage. Marriage Form

What is Confession?

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

We are conscious that none of us are worthy of so great a gift, yet we must be prepared as well as possible to receive Christ in the Eucharist. This includes receiving forgiveness in the sacrament of Confession for our sins, for anything that separates us from Christ and His Church.

Nowhere did Jesus express more beautifully what happens in the sacrament of Penance than in the parable of the Prodigal Son: we go astray, we are lost and can no longer cope. Yet our Father waits for us with great, indeed, infinite longing; he forgives us when we come back; he takes us in again, forgives our sins. Jesus Himself forgave the sins of many individuals; it was more important to him than working miracles. He regarded this as the great sign of the dawning of the kingdom of God, in which all wounds are healed and all tears are wiped away. Jesus forgave sins in the power of the Holy Spirit, and he handed that power onto his apostles. We fall into the arms of our heavenly father when we go to a priest and confess.” (YouCat 227)

Through the ministry of the Priest, the penitent receives God’s forgiveness, and his guilt is wiped away as if it had never existed. A priest can do this only because Jesus allows him to participate in his own divine power to forgive sins [YouCat 150].

Confessions by appointment or call to the Parochial House.

What is First Holy Communion?

In the Eucharist we receive Christ Himself. This is why it is so important that we are properly prepared and approach the sacrament with the correct disposition. The day of our First Holy Communion should be one of the most memorable and joyful days of our life.

Holy Eucharist is the sacrament in which Jesus Christ gives his body and blood – himself – for us, so that we too might give ourselves to him in love and be united with him in Holy Communion. In this way we are joined with the one body of Christ, the Church. [CCC 1322, 1324, 1409, 1413]

The Eucharist is the mysterious centre of the sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist), because the historic sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross is made present during the words of consecration in a hidden, unbloody manner.[YouCat 208]

Thus the celebration of the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (Lumen Gentium 11)

EUCHARIST (Greek Eucharistia = thanksgiving)

“DO THIS IN MEMORY” First Communion Programme

Do This in Memory is a parish-based pre-sacramental programme designed to help children, parents and the parish community prepare for First Eucharist.

It is a parish based programme of preparation for First Communion centred in the parish celebration of the Sunday Eucharist and in the home. The programme resources are designed to facilitate parents, families and the parishes’ active involvement in the preparation for the sacrament. It complements and supports the work of sacramental preparation in the parish school or the religious education programme in the parish. The programme takes place once a month for eight months before First Eucharist (Holy Communion Day) and concludes during the parish celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi.

What happens in Confirmation?

The soul of a baptised Christian is imprinted with a permanent seal that can be received only once and marks this indivual forever as a Christian. [CCC 1302-1305]

To be confirmed means to make a “covenant” with God. The person being confirmed essentially says, “yes, I believe in you, my God; give me your Holy Spirit, so that I might belong entirely to you, and never be separated from you, and may witness to you throughout my whole life, body and soul, in my words and deeds, on good days and bad.” [YouCat 205]

ANOINTING OF THE SICK

The anointing of the sick is administered to bring spiritual and even physical strength during an illness, especially near the time of death. It is most likely one of the last sacraments one will receive. A sacrament is an outward sign established by Jesus Christ to confer inward grace. In more basic terms, it is a rite that is performed to convey God’s grace to the recipient, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Anointing of the sick visits are on the First Friday of the month. Contact the Parish Office or the Parochial House to arrange a visit.

FUNERAL POLICY AS PER THE DIOCESE OF MEATH

The following regulations are to be followed at all funerals:

• Appreciations or eulogies by family members or friends of the deceased should not take place in the Church but may take place after the Rite of Committal in the cemetery or when the family and friends gather.

• Readings at the Funeral Liturgy should be taken from the Lectionary – your Priest will supply you with suitable options.

• Secular songs, poems and texts devoid of a Christian content are out of place in the Funeral Liturgy.

• A post-Communion reflection of a prayerful nature can be given after Communion but this should be agreed beforehand with the Celebrant and should not be used as a cloak for a eulogy.

• If a visiting priest is officiating at the Funeral Mass he should be informed of these regulations and asked to abide by them.

• Priests will only engage with the family in relation to the Funeral Rite.

• Undertakers must contact the Parochial House or the Parish Office.