Nuptial Mass at the Oratory

On the 21st December there was a splendid Traditional, Sung Nuptial Mass celebrated in the Oxford Oratory; the celebrant was Fr Richard Duffield. Please pray for the Happy Couple: their friends will recognise them from the cake! The cake was made by Lucy Shaw Cakes.

This rather grainy video was taken with an ordinary digital camera from the choir loft, and shows the consecration; note the newly married couple kneeling before the Altar. The time gap between the priest's actions and the sound of the bell is attributable to the distance from which the video was taken, not any slowness on the part of our servers!




As well as the very beautiful ceremony of the Vows and the Blessing of the Ring(s), the Traditional wedding service has special blessings of the bride and groom (actually, just the bride) which the celebrant makes after the Pater Noster.

Let us pray. Be gracious, O Lord, to our humble supplications: and graciously assist this Thine institution, which Thou hast established for the increase of mankind: that what is joined together by Thine authority, may be preserved by Thine aid. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee...

O God, who by Thine own mighty power, didst make all things out of nothing: who, having set in order the beginnings of the world, didst appoint Woman to be an inseparable helpmeet to Man, made like unto God, so that Thou didst give to woman's body its beginnings in man's flesh, thereby teaching that what it pleased Thee to form from one substance, might never be lawfully separated: O God, who, by so excellent a mystery hast consecrated the union of man and wife, as to foreshadow in this nuptial bond the union of Christ with His Church: O God, by whom Woman is joined to Man, and the partnership, ordained from the beginning, is endowed with such blessing that it alone was not withdrawn either by the punishment of original sin, nor by the sentence of the flood: graciously look upon this Thy handmaid, who, about to be joined in wedlock, seeks Thy defense and protection. May it be to her a yoke of love and peace: faithful and chaste, may she be wedded in Christ, and let her ever be the imitator of holy women: let her be dear to her husband, like Rachel: wise, like Rebecca: long-lived and faithful like Sara. Let not the author of deceit work any of his evil deeds in her. May she continue, clinging to the faith and to the commandments. Bound in one union, let her shun all unlawful contact. Let her protect her weakness by the strength of discipline; let her be grave in behavior, respected for modesty, well-instructed in heavenly doctrine. Let her be fruitful in offspring; be approved and innocent; and come to the repose of the blessed and the kingdom of heaven. May they both see their children's children to the third and fourth generation, and may they reach the old age which they desire. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth...

And I say: Amen to that!

(Hat-tip to Fisheaters for this text; for the full text of the marriage service and Nuptial Mass, see here.)