St William’s of Norwich
Argusville, N.D.

Marriage Planning/Preparation


Congratulations on your engagement!  As you prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage, may you be filled with God’s grace and blessings!

The Diocese of Fargo has requirements to help you and your fiancée best prepare to live out your vocation of Marriage and be the best spouse you can be.
 
Before scheduling your wedding at a parish, if either party (Catholic or non-Catholic) has a prior attempt at marriage which has not been dissolved through death or received a Document of Freedom to Marry, please contact the Tribunal Office at the Diocese of Fargo at 701-356-7940, before contacting your parish.    

Nine to Twelve Months Prior to Wedding Date:

• Pray together and enjoy quiet moments together as a couple. Ask God to bless your relationship and thank Him for the gift of one another.
• Schedule and have an initial meeting with your priest, to get to know him and learn more about his particular marriage preparation process.
• Complete the Pre-Nuptial Forms with your priest.
• If either of you have had a previous bond, please turn in the Document of Freedom to Marry to your parish.
• Take your FOCCUS Inventory through your parish.
• Obtain baptismal certificates for both parties (issued within 9 months or first contact with (priest).  Have the parish include all notations. If there are no notations, please have the parish write “None” in each area. 
• Schedule your Pre-Marriage Seminar Weekend date
• Schedule your Natural Family Planning Course

 
Two to Four Months Prior to Wedding Date:

• Turn “Certificate of Completion of the Pre-Marriage Seminar” in to your priest.
• Turn “Certificate of Completion of a Natural Family Planning Course” in to your priest.
• Begin meetings to review the results of your FOCCUS Inventory.
• Meet and discuss music and liturgy with your parish.

 
One to Two Months Prior to Wedding Date:

• Finalize your music and liturgy plan with your parish.
• No more than 30 days prior to the wedding date you must apply for a civil marriage license. 
• Continue praying and attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Options for 1^st Reading
 

1. Male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-28, 31)
2. The two of them become one body. (Genesis 2:18-24)
3. In his love for Rebekah, Isaac found solace after the death of his mother. (Genesis 24:48-51, 58-67)
4. May the Lord of heaven prosper you both; May he grant you mercy and peace. (Tobit 7:6-14)
   Allow us to live together to a happy old age. (Tobit 8:4b-8)
5. Allow us to live together to a happy old age. (Tobit 8:5-7)
6. The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31)
7. Stern as death is love. (Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16; 8:6-7)
8. Like the sun rising in the Lord’s heavens,
   the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home. (Sirach 26:1-4, 13-16)
9. I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Jeremiah 31:31-32a, 33-

Options for Responsorial Psalm

1. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 33:12, 18, 20-21, 22)
2. I will bless the Lord at all times (Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9)
3. The Lord is kind and merciful (Psalm 103:1-2, 8, 13, 17-18)
4. Happy are those who do what the Lord commands (Psalm 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-7, 7-8, 9)
5. Happy are those who fear the Lord (Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5ac, 6a)
6. The Lord is compassionate to all his creatures (Psalm 145:8-9, 10, 15, 17-18)
7. Let all praise the name of the Lord (Psalm 148:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-13ab, 13c-14a)

Options for 2^nd Reading

1. What will separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:31-35, 37-39).
2. Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. (Romans 12:1-2, 9-18 [long form] or Romans 12:1-2, 9-13 [short form])
3. Welcome one another as Christ welcomed you. (Romans 15:1b-3a, 5-7, 13)
4. Your body is a temple of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20)
5. If I do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 12:31 - 13:8)
6. One Body and one Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-6)
7. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. (Ephesians 5:2, 21-33 [long form] or Ephesians 5:2, 25-32 [short form])
8. The God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)
9. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3:12-17)
10. Let marriage be held in honor by all. (Hebrews 13:1-4a, 5-6b)
11. Be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another. (1 Peter 3:1-9)
12. Love in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18-24)
13. God is love (1 John 4:7-12)
14. Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:1, 5-9)

Options for Gospel Reading

1. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. (Matthew 5:1-12)
2. You are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:13-16)
3. A wise man built his house on rock. (Matthew 7:21, 24-29 [long form] or Matthew 7:21, 24-25 [short form])
4. What God has united, man must not separate. (Matthew 19:3-6)
5. This is the greatest and the first commandment.
   The second is like it. (Matthew 22:35-40)
6. They are no longer two, but one flesh. (Mark 10:6-9)
7. Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee. (John 2:1-11)
8. Remain in my love. (John 15:9-12)
9. This is my commandment: love one another. (John 15:12-16)
10. That they may be brought to perfection as one. (John 17:20-26 [long form] or 17:20-23 [short form])