While it is true that weddings can be performed during Lent, it is also true that a couple should respect the judgment of their pastor on the matter unless there are grave reasons that make it necessary to marry immediately. In the case of work obligations, if what we are talking about are extraordinary work obligations (e.g., military deployment, emergency medical personnel, civil servants who protect the community) that gravely affect the ability of one or the other of the partners to the marriage to schedule their marriage for after Lent, a pastor should be willing to schedule a Lenten wedding and a bishop can be importuned for assistance if the pastor refuses. But if instead we are talking about a couple that considers their own ordinary work schedule to be more important than the pastor’s desire to respect the liturgical seasons of the Church, then that couple should be reminded that, as important as their marriage is to them, they should accommodate themselves and their marriage to the common life of their parish community and Church – rather than expecting the parish and Church to accommodate their schedules to the couple.
