The US Bishops have this to say about Marriage as a Sacrament

When the Catholic Church teaches that marriage between two baptized persons is a sacrament, it is saying that the couple’s relationship expresses in a unique way the unbreakable bond of love between Christ and his people.  Like the other six sacraments of the Church, marriage is a sign or symbol which reveals the Lord Jesus and through which his divine life and love are communicated. All seven sacraments were instituted by Christ and were entrusted to the Church to be celebrated in faith within and for the community of believers. The rituals and prayers by which a sacrament is celebrated serve to express visibly what God is doing invisibly.
 
In a sacramental marriage, God’s love becomes present to the spouses in their total union and also flows through them to their family and community. By their permanent, faithful and exclusive giving to each other, symbolized in sexual intercourse, the couple reveals something of God’s unconditional love. The sacrament of Christian marriage involves their entire life as they journey together through the ups and downs of marriage and become more able to give to and receive from each other. Their life becomes sacramental to the extent that the couple cooperates with God’s action in their life and sees themselves as living “in Christ” and Christ living and acting in their relationship, attitudes and actions.

To be married in the Catholic Church means far more than to have the wedding ceremony in a church building. While marriage as a “contract” is legally binding, the sacramental covenant of marriage is spiritually and morally binding. To be married in the presence of the holy assembly of God’s people means a man and a woman are joined together in a lasting bond of love, to live the sacrament of their marriage all their days.

​The Church wishes to call attention to Christian marital love as a special ministry within your family. This love is also other-directed, a love which enriches the community through the lives of all whom you meet. The purpose of marriage is to build a community of life and love between spouses.

You are invited and strongly encouraged to become active members in a parish. Studies show that couples who worship and pray together and are active members in a parish are nurtured and supported by their shared faith experience in a community.

Couples interested in pursuing marriage at Our Lady of Mercy should call the parish office a minimum of 6 months in advance to allow time for preparation. To ensure that the couple fully realizes their call to the sacrament, they will meet with Fr. Dawson on a regular basis for discussion and growth.

For further information, please call the Parish Office at 860-747-6825.