Jade and Anthony will be celebrating the sacrament of matrimony in the Catholic Mass. So what does all that mean? Here are a few points to help you out.

(And yes, this page is a little long, but we encourage you to give it a look)

Through the priest’s “Eucharistic Prayer of Consecration” the bread and wine brought to the altar during the Holy Mass are truly, substantially, and fully changed (transubstantiated) into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Because reception of Holy Communion implies both a belief in this doctrine as well as full doctrinal and sacramental communion with the Catholic Church, it is reserved for fully initiated and practicing Catholics in a state of grace.

Basically, Communion is an opportunity to physically receive Jesus into our bodies, but by receiving, you are saying that you truly believe that Jesus is literally and physically present in the Eucharist and that you are prepared to receive Him.

While we are happy to have our non-Catholic guests share in this great celebration with us, we ask you to please not receive communion. The Church kindly encourages non-Catholics and those Catholics who are not presently disposed to receive the Eucharist to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another. If you would like to, please come forward, cross your arms over your chest, and receive a blessing from the Priest. Thank you for your respect in this matter.

We ask our Catholic guests to prepare to receive Holy Communion at our wedding by attending Mass each Sunday, receiving the Sacrament of Confession if they are in a state of mortal (serious) sin, and observing the Eucharistic fast of at least one hour before the Wedding Mass.

That's okay! We're happy that you'll be celebrating our Wedding Mass with us! Don't worry, we'll have programs available at the ceremony that'll help guide you through.

If you want to study up a bit (totally optional), here's a great guide to what's going on and the significance:

How to go to Mass

If you haven't been to Mass in a while (or ever) but don't want our wedding to be your first time back, here's a website to search for Mass near you:

Mass Times