The Priest, vested in a surplice and white stole, accompanied by at least one Clerk, to carry the book and a vessel of holy water, and by two or three witnesses, asks the man and the woman separately, as follows, in the vulgar tongue, concerning their consent. And first he asks the Bridegroom, who must stand at the right hand of the woman : N., wilt thou take N., here present, for thy lawful wife, according to the rite of our holy Mother the Church? R. I will. Then the Priest asks the Bride: N., wilt thou take N., here present, for thy law "Si quæ provinciæ aliis, ultra prædictas, laudabilius consuetudinibus et caerimoniis hac in re utuntur, eas omnino retineri sancta synodus vehementer optat."-Concilii Tridentini Sessio xxiv., fol. 219. 'Compare the concluding part of note 8. ful husband according to the rite of our holy Mother the Church? R. I will. Then the woman is given away by her father or friend; and if she has never been married before, she has her hand uncovered: but if she is a widow, she has it covered. The man receives her to keep in God's faith and his own; and holding her by the right hand, in his own right hand, plights her his troth, saying after the Priest, as follows: I, N., take thee, N., to my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part, if holy Church will it permit; and thereto I plight thee my troth. Then they loose their hands: and, joining them again, the woman says after the Priest: I, N., take thee, N., to my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part, if holy Church will it permit; and thereto I plight thee my troth. Their troth being thus pledged to each other on both sides, and their right hands joined, the Priest says: Ego conjungo vos in I join you together in matrimonium, in nomine marriage, in the name Patris, et Filii, et of the Father, and of Spiritus Sancti. Amen. the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. |