Marriage Week
Marriage Week celebrates family life

Marriage Week (February 7-14) is an annual celebration offering the opportunity to support and promote marriage and family life.
A Christian marriage is rooted in faith. That means faith in God as the giver of life and the one who promises eternal life to those who believe in him.
Lead bishop for marriage and family life Bishop Bosco MacDonald calls marriage a source of stability and happiness, showing us the endless love that God has for all of us.
As we mark National Marriage Week 2025, think about the huge importance of marriage in our lives and society. In a world that can be confusing and divided, hope shines brightly especially in this Jubilee Year.
And the hope of marriage is that it becomes a source of stability and happiness, showing us the endless love that God has for all of us.
For Christians, marriage isn’t just a legal agreement, it’s a special promise between husband and wife, like the covenant between God and humanity.
And God’s promises are always fruitful. Pope Benedict XVI once said: “Marriage is a way to save ourselves and our society” because marriage is a source of hope, strength and new beginnings for everyone involved.
In this way, marriage is a big act of faith and love, giving us the courage to take part in God’s amazing creation – a journey of unconditional love, just like God’s love.
When two people get married, they promise to take care of each other, grow together in faith, and create a home where love, respect, and understanding are the rules.
We’re made to love, just as God loves us, and this love isn’t just for one person, it’s for everyone around us.
National Marriage Week is a time for all of us to think about this special sacrament and how it can change lives.
It’s a chance for married couples to strengthen their bond by being kind to each other, talking openly, and sharing experiences. 
And for all of us, as we celebrate the beauty of marriage this week, let’s make sure that we support and encourage couples in their journey.
We can offer our contribution towards a culture that respects and values marriage, knowing that it’s the foundation for a happy and healthy society.
For people who are getting married or supporting others on their journey, may this National Marriage Week inspire us all to embrace the hope that marriage brings, not just for ourselves, but for future generations.

A simple prayer of thanksgiving for the vocation to marriage:

Lord, we pray in thanksgiving for the vocation to marriage
and for each couple that you join together to make a family.

We ask that every marriage brings each couple closer to you and to holiness.

We pray for those who are struggling in their marriage,
that they can make it through this tough time
and find hope and consolation in You.

We pray that this Jubilee year can be a year of hope for marriages,
with your gentle guiding hand through each
action, decision, discussion and event.

We make this prayer through Christ, your Son, our Lord.

Amen.

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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers two prayers – one for a couple, and one for more than one couple.

For one couple:

O God, who in creating the human race
willed that man and wife should be one,
keep, we pray, in a bond of inseparable love
those who are united in the covenant of Marriage,
so that, as you make their love fruitful,
they may become, by your grace, witnesses to charity itself.
Through Christ our Lord
Amen.


For more than one couple:

Almighty and eternal God,
You blessed the union of married couples
so that they might reflect the union of Christ
with his Church:
look with kindness on them.
Renew their marriage covenant,
increase your love in them,
and strengthen their bond of peace
so that, with their children,
they may always rejoice in the gift of
your blessing.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

RESOURCES

MARRIAGE IN THE BIBLE

WHAT GIVES US HOPE IN MARRIAGE?

MORE RESOURCES

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