What times within the liturgical year are you not suppose to get married?

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I know that during Lent is a definite “no-no”, however, I have also heard that weddings during advent are not always advised.

I can understand this because these are times within The Church that our focus should be on both the birth and death of Jesus.

I was wondering if there were any other times that The Catholic Church does not permit the Sacrament of Matrimony?

And would the periods of times just after Lent or Advent be okay? Take a New Years wedding for example?
 
strivingforsainthood said:
I was wondering if there were any other times that The Catholic Church does not permit the Sacrament of Matrimony?
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My understanding is that the only rock-solid prohibition, for the entire Church, pertains to Good Friday and Holy Saturday. There could be nationwide or diocesan “policy.” Other than that, it depends on what the local parish priest is willing/able to do.

Dan
 
Marriages are only forbidden on Good Friday and Holy Saturday and not on any other day. There is no prohibition on their celebration during Advent and Lent.

There are rules regarding the Nuptial Mass which require the orations and lections of the particular day and not those found in the Missal or Lectionary for use at Marriage or in the Rite of Marriage. For example, if you got married on a Sunday in Lent the orations and lections for that Sunday must be used. If you were married the day before on the Saturday the orations and lections from the Ritual Mass can be used.
 
TomH1 said:
Marriages are only forbidden on Good Friday and Holy Saturday and not on any other day. T
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Do you know anyone getting married on great feasts though? How can one find a parish who has the time to marry you on Easter Sunday, or Christmas? Or Second days of these feasts. Or Third days of these feasts. Even if it’s not Lent…
 
The question posed by the OP was if there are any days when the Church prohibits the celebration of marriage, and it was that question that I answered.

Undoubtedly, there are times in the year when parishes are extremely busy and a priest may gently persuade a couple from not insisting they are married at one of those times. That, however, was not the question posed.
 
As others have said, it’s only forbidden on Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Marriages are not encouraged during Lent and Advent and if celebrated the notes in the Rite of Marriage reminds us that music and decorations are to be toned down to maintain the penitential nature of the season.
 
I’m not sure if there was a ban but I can’t find any marriages celebrated during Lent the early 1900s in the parish where I grew up. I find one on Shrove Tuesday 1905 and a 3 unrelated couples married on the Monday before Ash Wednesday in 1912 and another couple did the same in 1917.

I do find a marriage on Dec. 18, 1915.
 
Actually, these prohibitions on marriages during Lent and Advent are no longer a part of canon law. (I’m actually not sure that Advent ever was.) However, many places still observe this custom, and some places may be sticklers about it. There has not been a ban on feast days, but there is a practical component to that regarding how many Masses a priest can say in a day, his schedule, the church’s schedule, etc. In addition, it would obligate Catholics who participate to attend a second Mass since the Nuptial Mass would not fulfill the obligation. That can complicate things quite a bit.
 
JHFamily said:
In addition, it would obligate Catholics who participate to attend a second Mass since the Nuptial Mass would not fulfill the obligation. That can complicate things quite a bit.
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I thought any Mass would fulfill the obligation - that it doesn’t have to be the Mass for the feast.
 
Just be careful not to “double dip”
 
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JHFamily said:
Our priest has been very careful in teaching us that it is not true. He calls it “double dipping”, and it does not fulfill the obligation. For example, many people will attend a Nuptial Mass on Saturday night and think that they have fulfilled their Sunday obligation. Not true. The Mass you intend to fulfill the obligation must use the Propers attached to that day of obligation.
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Yes, this is true.

Additionally, some diocese can have policies where they discourage marriage during advent and lent. Totally appropriate to discourage it IMHO. These are times of preparation for major feast days and we shouldn’t be distracted by wedding planning and the accompanying festivities. JMHO.
 
Your priest is incorrect according to Canon Law, though. It’s perfectly licit to use a nuptial mass on Saturday evening for the Sunday obligation, as there is absolutely no requirement related to prayers or readings to fulfilling the obligation.
 
“Double dipping” is indeed not acceptable when it comes to fulfilling two obligations. If All Saints falls on a Saturday, for example, attending a Saturday evening Mass will not fulfill the obligations for both All Saints and Sunday. We are not obligated to attend a Nuptial Mass, so a Saturday evening wedding Mass can fulfill the obligation for Sunday.
 
Glennon_P said:
Before Vatican II, was there an outright ban on weddings in Lent and Advent, it was it just a pious custom?
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I don’t know what the customs were but I do know that there was not an outright ban.

The distinction between the votive, nuptial Mass (which was forbidden on many days, such as Sundays, other days of obligations, during Octaves, etc.), the solemn nuptial blessing (which was forbidden during Advent and Lent), and the contracting of marriage (which could happen at any time of the year) has to be maintained (see, for example c. 1108 of the 1917 Code).

So, for example, a couple could have gotten married on the second Sunday of Lent. They could not, however, have used the votive Mass nor have received the solemn blessing. They could have received the simple, nuptial blessing.

They could receive the solemn blessing and celebrate the votive Mass at some other time, if they married during one of the restricted times. I suppose most people would have planned the wedding so that everything could be done at one time (blessing, nuptial Mass, and exchange of consent). Nevertheless, there could well be occasions where a couple would “need” to marry during Lent or Advent or on a Sunday or whatever.

Dan
 
JHFamily said:
Our priest has been very careful in teaching us that it is not true. He calls it “double dipping”, and it does not fulfill the obligation. For example, many people will attend a Nuptial Mass on Saturday night and think that they have fulfilled their Sunday obligation. Not true. The Mass you intend to fulfill the obligation must use the Propers attached to that day of obligation.
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Perhaps you can double check this with him to make sure this is what he is saying.

Dan
 
He is very clear, and I have no doubts whatsoever in his meaning. He, too, is a canon lawyer.
 
JHFamily said:
Our priest has been very careful in teaching us that it is not true. He calls it “double dipping”, and it does not fulfill the obligation. For example, many people will attend a Nuptial Mass on Saturday night and think that they have fulfilled their Sunday obligation. Not true. The Mass you intend to fulfill the obligation must use the Propers attached to that day of obligation.
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Canon Law only requires you to attend a Mass, on the day or the evening before a Holy Day of Obligation. It does not impose what Mass you must attend. Are you suggesting that if you attend an Ordination on Sunday you haven’t met your Sunday obligation?
 
JanetF said:
Additionally, some diocese can have policies where they discourage marriage during advent and lent. Totally appropriate to discourage it IMHO. These are times of preparation for major feast days and we shouldn’t be distracted by wedding planning and the accompanying festivities. JMHO.
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Plus–think ahead!! Who really wants to have their wedding anniversary during Advent or Lent for the rest of their married lives? I wouldn’t suggest getting married at around the time school starts, either, or around Super Bowl Sunday. (Or, in our neck of the woods, during hunting season, either. That’s when you know who your friennds are. Your friends are people who would never plan to have their wedding during hunting season, lol.)
 
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Okay, so I think I was a little confused on the “double dipping”. I stand corrected. No, you can’t kill two birds with one stone (for example meeting a Saturday Holy Day obligation and a Sunday obligation by attending the Saturday vigil Mass). But, yes, we can use the Saturday Vigil Mass to fulfill your Saturday Holy Day obligation, however, we still must attend another Mass to fulfill our Sunday obligation. Each obligation requires its own Mass attendance, but not necessarily the Mass said for that particular obligation. Is this now correct?
 
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