Rite for Arras, Crowning, and Veiling

[stephraim]

Does anyone have the texts in English of the rites not in the Rite of Marriage, such as those of the arras, the lazo, the crowning, and veiling? I have a few couples who have cultural ties to these customs (I know the couples requesting arras and lazo are of Mexican descent, but I can’t remember the descent of the other couples requesting the crowning and veiling) and I need the texts to incorporate into a Nuptial Mass. Thank you in advance for all your help.

 

[stephraim]

Anyone?

 

[malphono]

I’m afraid this won’t be of much help, but I’ll offer my :twocents: anyway.

Admittedly Western marriage rituals are not my specialty, but I believe the arras and lazo are local customs that have never been part of the Ritual. Whether there are “approved” texts or not I don’t know, but perhaps a call to the chancery of the nearest diocese in Mexico would help to answer that question. If there are, I’m sure they can provide the Spanish text, which can be translated as needed.

As for the crowning, to my knowledge (and I could be wrong), it hasn’t been used in the West since the early Middle Ages (if even that late). From what I recall, it was in the old Gallican Rite but was not part of the Roman usage nor was it incorporated into it. If what I recall is correct, there would be no text for that at all. Perhaps it survived as a local custom in particular places, and if so, a call or email to the appropriate diocese might help there too.

I have never even heard of “veiling.”

 

[puzzleannie]

Does anyone have the texts in English of the rites not in the Rite of Marriage, such as those of the arras, the lazo, the crowning, and veiling? I have a few couples who have cultural ties to these customs (I know the couples requesting arras and lazo are of Mexican descent, but I can’t remember the descent of the other couples requesting the crowning and veiling) and I need the texts to incorporate into a Nuptial Mass. Thank you in advance for all your help.

here those things are after Mass, or at least after communion, NOT incorporated into the nuptial Mass (that also includes other quasi cultural customs like a unity candle, flowers for the Virgin Mary etc.). since these ceremonies are almost always for families where Spanish is the language in the home, no I have not seen an English translation, except where the presider, usually the deacon, calls the padrinos and madrinos forward and says their names, or the names are in a printed program.

Call the diocese and ask for the deacon or priest with responsibility for Hispanic ministry and they may have the printed resources you are looking for.

I have not seen crowning or veiling here, so I am not familiar with those. More common here are the arras and the lazo, and presentation of a bible, and the presider just says something generic, like “Eric is presenting Maria with the arras as a promise that he will always support her and their children and a token of his sharing and bestowing on her all his wordly goods”. I don’t see anyone reading from a prepared text. I am not an expert, just an observer, for this sacrament.

 

[UbiCaritas]

As I recall, the crowning is associated with weddings in which the couple (or half of the couple) are from the Philippines. I assume by “crowning” you mean a part of the ceremony in which the couple are “crowned” with two wreaths tied together by ribbons or some such, right? I attended a wedding in a quite conservative church in which this was done.

I suggest contacting a church known for a population with cultural ties to that area.

Interestingly, I hadn’t realized that the flowers for Mary’s altar was a Hispanic custom. Of course, I live in Texas, so I can see where the custom could have “crossed over” into non-Hispanic weddings. Here, it’s usually done right after Communion.

Good luck!

 

[Tepeyac]

Sorry stephraim, I wish I had the texts of the rites in English to share but I don’t. For the moment I think your best bet would be to contact your local diocesan offices or even the USCCB’s Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs. Maybe they could offer guidance. The bishops have marriage website in Spanish called Portumatrimonio.org., if that’s helpful, but I don’t see English versions of the rites on their marriage ceremony page. Maybe you could contact them directly for advice.

Admittedly Western marriage rituals are not my specialty, but I believe the arras and lazo are local customs that have never been part of the Ritual.

I don’t have the time to do much research, but a quick search brought up the following information that might be helpful.

It may be that some of these practices are not just local customs but part of the ritual in Hispanic countries for a very long time with their origins in the Mozarabic Rite. A website (in Spanish) on the Mozarabic Rite in Spain today says that the arras ritual, or exchange of coins, was part of the marriage ritual in the Mozarabic Rite.

It says that part of these customs and prayers of Mozarabic origin have been included in the “Formulario Tercero del Ritual del Matrimonio” or the “Third Formulary for the Ritual of Matrimony” which is used in Spain today. It says that prayers and practices that had survived in many dioceses in Spain through the centuries and were forgotten in the editions of the Ritual following Vatican II have been rescued, that is restored, since 1996.

The article also mentions that even after the suppresion of the Rite in the 11th century a part of the Mozarabic marriage ritual and prayers passed into a book called the Manual Toledano and thanks to this these rituals and prayers continued to be used in many Spanish dioceses, including ones in the New World.

This post on another forum has something very relevant to say so I’ll translate it directly:

The nuptial mass is one thing and the rite of marriage is another which in itself does not need the mass.

The rite of marriage is not nor has it been in the Missal but it is in the Ritual and this is important for the following: just like there was only one Missal for the entire Latin Church of the Roman Rite, this was not (the case) for the Rituals. The Rituals displayed peculiarities depending on the country and even according to the diocese.

In the case of a good part of Spain and other Hispanic countries, the “Manual Toledano” was followed. In that manual there were remnants of the Hispanic-Mozarabic liturgy which in the case of matrimony were even more than remnants. For example the “velacion” (imposition of the veil over the sholders of the groom and the head of the bride), the precious (lovely) blessing of the bride, the “arras”, the “despedida” (farewell), (“A companion I give you, and not a servant: love her as Christ loved his Church”) and diverse prayers from that manual were from the Hispanic-Mozarabic liturgy and not the Roman one.

Another peculiarity of the Manual Toledano is that it was bilingual since ancient times.

The velacion could be the “veiling” that stephraim wrote in the OP.

I wrote all of this to show that at least some of these practices aren’t just local customs but actual parts of the marriage ritual that were used historically in Hispanic countries and that at least some of them were originally part of the Mozarabic Rite.

Whether there are “approved” texts or not I don’t know, but perhaps a call to the chancery of the nearest diocese in Mexico would help to answer that question. If there are, I’m sure they can provide the Spanish text, which can be translated as needed.

The translation I posted above was on a thread dealing with the Extroardinary Form but it sounds like much of this has been restored to the offical Rite of Marriage in the Ordinary Form in Spain. Perhaps this has happened in parts of Latin America as well so I wouldn’t be surprised if at least some of these rituals are part of the official Rite of Marriage books in Spanish used in the U.S.

 

[benedictgal]

Having helped out at over 100+ weddings, including my cousin’s, I have a pretty good idea regarding the Arras, at least.

First and foremost, the most important parts of the nuptial ritual are the consent, the exchange of the vows and the exchange of the rings. The arras and the laso are part of inculturation and do have a legitimate place in the rite.

The arras come after the rings. What our former Cathedral rector does is this: He prays over the couple, saying this prayer:

Lord, we ask you to bless N (husband) with N (bride) as you once blessed Abraham with Sarah, Isaac with Rebecca, Jacob with Rachel and Joseph with Mary. May their love bloom like the Rose of Sharon and may a fruit of that love be generosity with themselves, their children and the poor whom they will surely meet along the road of this life.

Then the arras are exchanged. The padrino gives the coins to the priest who blesses them. Then, he hands them over to the groom who says:

Accept these coins as a symbol of the materiall goods that we will have together. I pledge my generosity to you and to our children.

The bride receives them and says:

I receive these coins and likewise pledge my generosity wth you and with our children.

Then, the laso comes onto the scene. The laso is blessed by the priest who says (as the padrinos are draping iti around the shoulders:

Lord, bless this laso, the visible symbol of the invisible bonds of love that now unite N and N in marriage.

I am not familiar with the crowning nor the veiling as these have never been done down here, nor do they appear in the nuptial rite as approved for use in Mexico by the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM).

 

[stephraim]

Thank you all for your replies. I’ll see what I can do.