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By K.E. Colombini
Thanks to the wisdom of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Catholics who came of age after the Second Vatican Council have gotten a taste of Catholic liturgical tradition previously unavailable, and many have decided that they like it.
First and foremost, this has come about via the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) of the 1962 Roman Missal, the last one produced before the significant liturgical changes of Vatican II and the subsequent 1970 Missal. Up until the sharp U-turn of Pope Francis' 2021 apostolic letter Traditionis custodes and its follow-up documents, the Traditional Latin Mass – which had been given greater freedom by Pope Benedict XVI – saw a resurgence that filled pews and inspired many.
Yet because all things are connected in the tradition, other devotional practices have come back that also deserve our attention and support. What had been lost for years was found again – and thereby found to be all the more precious.
This realization came to me recently when our youngest daughter became engaged. Since she is of a more traditional nature, liturgically speaking, she and her fiancé opted for a short betrothal rite at her parish, one of the two oratories in our archdiocese where the traditional Mass is offered.
Bishops have often placed requirements on people seeking sacraments that can be above and beyond reasonable expectation – requiring "community service hours" for Confirmation, for example, or weekend couples retreats before marriage. In fact, when it comes to wedding prep in the Catholic Church, a whole cottage industry of programs has arisen – with names like TOBET4Engaged, FOCCUS, SmartLoving, Witness to Love, Better Together, or Joy-Filled Marriage. These are in a way only to be expected as pastors try to ensure that engaged couples are prepared for a marriage that is supposed to last until death in the midst of a culture that implies precisely the opposite.
It is easy to understand concerns about marriage prep when one looks at divorce or annulment rates of Catholics in the United States. Historically, America has not only seen more annulments than any other country; fewer than 10 percent of applications are rejected. This says something about the state of marriage preparation, and something that is not good.
One can personally disagree with sacramental roadblocks, and it is not hard to find horror stories about them. When it comes to matrimony, however, one also can argue that the traditional betrothal ceremony would be a smart addition to marriage prep and should certainly be offered and encouraged – at the very least – by priests and others tasked with helping engaged couples. The betrothal rite is steeped in tradition, but has everything that should be appealing to modern Catholic sensibilities. It is short and in the vernacular. And it doesn't even involve kneeling.
The rite takes about ten minutes, with the priest encouraging the couple, using words such as:
In the time that intervenes, you will prepare for the sacrament of matrimony by a period of virtuous courtship, so that when the happy and blessed day arrives for you to give yourselves irrevocably to each other, you will have laid a sound spiritual foundation for long years of godly prosperity on earth and eventual blessedness together in the life to come. May the union you propose on this day to consummate as man and wife be found worthy to be in all truth a sacramental image and reality of the union of Christ and His beloved Bride, the Church.
The couple then exchange a promise to each other that is not unlike the marriage vows that they will make some months down the road; the woman's words are similar to those of the man, who says: "In the name of the Lord, I promise that I will one day take thee as my wife, according to the ordinances of God and holy Church. I will love thee even as myself. I will keep faith and loyalty to thee, and so in thy necessities aid and comfort thee; which things and all that a man ought to do ...
Thanks to the wisdom of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Catholics who came of age after the Second Vatican Council have gotten a taste of Catholic liturgical tradition previously unavailable, and many have decided that they like it.
First and foremost, this has come about via the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) of the 1962 Roman Missal, the last one produced before the significant liturgical changes of Vatican II and the subsequent 1970 Missal. Up until the sharp U-turn of Pope Francis' 2021 apostolic letter Traditionis custodes and its follow-up documents, the Traditional Latin Mass – which had been given greater freedom by Pope Benedict XVI – saw a resurgence that filled pews and inspired many.
Yet because all things are connected in the tradition, other devotional practices have come back that also deserve our attention and support. What had been lost for years was found again – and thereby found to be all the more precious.
This realization came to me recently when our youngest daughter became engaged. Since she is of a more traditional nature, liturgically speaking, she and her fiancé opted for a short betrothal rite at her parish, one of the two oratories in our archdiocese where the traditional Mass is offered.
Bishops have often placed requirements on people seeking sacraments that can be above and beyond reasonable expectation – requiring "community service hours" for Confirmation, for example, or weekend couples retreats before marriage. In fact, when it comes to wedding prep in the Catholic Church, a whole cottage industry of programs has arisen – with names like TOBET4Engaged, FOCCUS, SmartLoving, Witness to Love, Better Together, or Joy-Filled Marriage. These are in a way only to be expected as pastors try to ensure that engaged couples are prepared for a marriage that is supposed to last until death in the midst of a culture that implies precisely the opposite.
It is easy to understand concerns about marriage prep when one looks at divorce or annulment rates of Catholics in the United States. Historically, America has not only seen more annulments than any other country; fewer than 10 percent of applications are rejected. This says something about the state of marriage preparation, and something that is not good.
One can personally disagree with sacramental roadblocks, and it is not hard to find horror stories about them. When it comes to matrimony, however, one also can argue that the traditional betrothal ceremony would be a smart addition to marriage prep and should certainly be offered and encouraged – at the very least – by priests and others tasked with helping engaged couples. The betrothal rite is steeped in tradition, but has everything that should be appealing to modern Catholic sensibilities. It is short and in the vernacular. And it doesn't even involve kneeling.
The rite takes about ten minutes, with the priest encouraging the couple, using words such as:
In the time that intervenes, you will prepare for the sacrament of matrimony by a period of virtuous courtship, so that when the happy and blessed day arrives for you to give yourselves irrevocably to each other, you will have laid a sound spiritual foundation for long years of godly prosperity on earth and eventual blessedness together in the life to come. May the union you propose on this day to consummate as man and wife be found worthy to be in all truth a sacramental image and reality of the union of Christ and His beloved Bride, the Church.
The couple then exchange a promise to each other that is not unlike the marriage vows that they will make some months down the road; the woman's words are similar to those of the man, who says: "In the name of the Lord, I promise that I will one day take thee as my wife, according to the ordinances of God and holy Church. I will love thee even as myself. I will keep faith and loyalty to thee, and so in thy necessities aid and comfort thee; which things and all that a man ought to do ...