the marriage ceremony

⁹Therefore, it is better for two to be together, than for one to be alone. For they have the advantage of their companionship. ¹⁰If one falls, he shall be supported by the other. Woe to one who is alone. For when he falls, he has no one to lift him up. ¹¹And if two are sleeping, they warm one another. How can one person alone be warmed? ¹²And if a man can prevail against one, two may withstand him, and a threefold cord is broken with difficulty.

¹²Therefore, clothe yourselves like the elect of God: holy and beloved, with hearts of mercy, kindness, humility, modesty, and patience. ¹³Support one another, and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive one another. For just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also must you do. ¹⁴And above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ lift up your hearts. For in this peace, you have been called, as one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ live in you in abundance, with all wisdom, teaching and correcting one another, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing to God with the grace in your hearts. ¹⁷Let everything whatsoever that you do, whether in word or in deed, be done all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

²⁴For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.

⁴Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated. ⁵Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil. ⁶Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices in truth. ⁷Charity suffers all, believes all, hopes all, endures all. ⁸Charity is never torn away, even if prophecies pass away, or languages cease, or knowledge is destroyed. ⁹For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part.

²²He who has found a good wife has found goodness, and he shall draw contentment from the Lord. He who expels a good wife expels goodness. But he who holds on to an adulteress is foolish and impious.

¹⁸The Lord God also said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper for him similar to himself.”

⁹Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.”

¹⁶She answered, “Do not be against me, as if I would abandon you and go away; for wherever you will go, I will go, and where you will stay, I also will stay with you. Your people are my people, and your God is my God. ¹⁷Whichever land will receive you dying, in the same I will die, and there I will have the place of my burial. May God cause these things to happen to me, and add more also, if anything except death alone should separate you and I.”

²⁸And we know that, for those who love God, all things work together unto good, for those who, in accordance with his purpose, are called to be saints.

⁴May marriage be honorable in every way, and may the marriage bed be immaculate. For God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

²²Wives should be submissive to their husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church. He is the Savior of his body. ²⁴Therefore, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also should wives be subject to their husbands in all things. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and handed himself over for her, ²⁶so that he might sanctify her, washing her clean by water and the Word of life, ²⁷so that he might offer her to himself as a glorious Church, not having any spot or wrinkle or any such thing, so that she would be holy and immaculate.

⁴And he said to them in response, “Have you not read that he who made man from the beginning, made them male and female?” And he said: ⁵“For this reason, a man shall separate from father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife, and these two shall become one flesh. ⁶And so, now they are not two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.”

⁶Groom to Bride: Under the apple tree, I awakened you. There your mother was corrupted. There she who bore you was violated. ⁷Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm. For love is strong, like death, and envy is enduring, like hell: their lamps are made of fire and flames.

¹A Canticle in steps. Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. ²For you will eat by the labors of your hands. Blessed are you, and it will be well with you. ³Your wife is like an abundant vine on the sides of your house. Your sons are like young olive trees surrounding your table. ⁴Behold, so will the man be blessed who fears the Lord. ⁵May the Lord bless you from Zion, and may you see the good things of Jerusalem, all the days of your life. ⁶And may you see the sons of your sons. Peace be upon Israel.

²¹And so the Lord God sent a deep sleep upon Adam. And when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and he completed it with flesh for it. ²²And the Lord God built up the rib, which he took from Adam, into a woman. And he led her to Adam. ²³And Adam said: “Now this is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh. This one shall be called woman, because she was taken from man.” ²⁴For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh.

¹If I were to speak in the language of men, or of Angels, yet not have charity, I would be like a clanging bell or a crashing cymbal. ²And if I have prophecy, and learn every mystery, and obtain all knowledge, and possess all faith, so that I could move mountains, yet not have charity, then I am nothing. ³And if I distribute all my goods in order to feed the poor, and if I hand over my body to be burned, yet not have charity, it offers me nothing. ⁴Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated. ⁵Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil. ⁶Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices in truth.

¹⁴Let all that is yours be immersed in charity.

¹And so, as a prisoner in the Lord, I beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the vocation to which you have been called: ²with all humility and meekness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. ³Be anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit within the bonds of peace.

¹³You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, with what will it be salted? It is no longer useful at all, except to be cast out and trampled under by men. ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. ¹⁵And they do not light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that it may shine to all who are in the house. ¹⁶So then, let your light shine in the sight of men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father, who is in heaven.