Wedding Music Planning Guide for the

Order of Celebrating Matrimony at St. Joseph

Catholic Community

This brief guide is provided to you to help with the choosing of meaningful and appropriate music for wedding liturgies in Catholic Church

according to the norms of the Roman Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD,

and specifically St. Joseph Catholic Community.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Your wedding celebration is the beginning of your formal commitment to love and honor one another as man and wife for the rest of your lives. Since this is a liturgical moment in your lives and the life of the faith community, we pray you will take great care in preparing the music which is such a vital part of any liturgical celebration. Our aim is to assist you in choosing music for your wedding ceremony which is reverent, beautiful, and appropriate for the sacred event in which you will soon participate. The goal of all our Catholic liturgies, as noted in our official church documents is “full and active participation” of the assembly. While the wedding ceremony is somewhat different from a Sunday Mass, there are opportunities for those in the congregation to be involved in singing. In many wedding ceremonies the processional and recessional songs chosen are instrumental selections. Although instrumental selections are permitted at these points in the ceremony the rite encourages the use of congregational singing as a means of increased participation by the congregation. It is, at least, something to consider as you make your plans. You have planned your wedding to take place in the church and so we ask you to understand the music, like all other aspects of the ceremony, should be sacred in nature. We ask your patience and understanding in real-izing we may not use secular or recorded music during the liturgy. If either is desired, the appropriate place for both is at the rehearsal dinner or wedding reception.

Planning Your Wedding Music

Mr. Lyle D. Peters, the Pastoral Associate for Liturgy and Music

(P.A.L.M.) at St. Joseph Catholic Community, coordinates musical planning of

all weddings at the parish. Mr. Peters is a professional musician and holds the

following degrees:

Master of Arts—Music Performance; Master of Divinity;

Baccalaureate of Sacred Theology; Bachelor of Music.

He is an accomplished vocalist, pianist, and organist and is a member

of professional organizations including the American Guild of Organists,

MENC, and the American Composers’ Forum. His talents provide you with the

services of liturgist, accompanist, and vocalist. He has over thirty years of

professional, musical, and liturgical experience and will help you choose

appropriate and personal music for your wedding liturgy.

Musicians for the Wedding Liturgy Part of the service of the parish is to provide an accompanist and cantor for your wedding. There are a number of excellent musicians in the parish. We prefer to use parish musicians because they are familiar with the Catholic liturgy and the particulars of the wedding liturgies at Saint Joseph. These services are covered by the parish at no additional cost to you.

If guest musicians are used, they are most easily used for prelude music, a solo at an appropriate time in the ceremony, or postlude music. They are responsible to contact the Pastoral Associate of Liturgy and Music (P.A.L.M.) for required approval of all music to be sung or played at least one month prior to the wedding ceremony.

Order of Celebrating Matrimony Within & Without Mass and Music Selections to Choose √

INTRODUCTORY RITES Within Mass Without Mass

~ Prelude √ √

~ Procession (Can be Christian song or instrumental.)

√ √

LITURGY OF THE WORD

~ Responsorial Psalm √ √

~ Gospel Acclamation √ √

MARRIAGE RITE (after the rite) √

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

~ Holy, Holy, Holy √

~ Memorial Acclamation √

~ Great Amen √

~ Lamb of God √

~ Communion Song(s) √

~ Marian Presentation √ √

CONCLUDING RITE (Can be Christian song or instrumental.)

~ Recessional √ √

Prelude, Seating of Family, Candle Lighting The music for this portion of the celebration is most frequently chosen by the accompanist

and may include a variety of Classical to modern instrumental music. This music need not

be specifically chosen by the couple.

Procession Instrumental Choral

Air (from “Water Music”) ~ Handel All Are Welcome

Air in G ~ Handel All People That on Earth Do Dwell

Canon in D ~ Pachelbel Gather Us In

Chaconne (No. 3) ~ Handel We Come to Your Feast

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring ~ Bach

Bridal Chorus ~ Wagner Faith, Hope & Love

Canon in D ~ Pachelbel God in the Planning

Entry of the Queen of Sheba ~ Handel Not for Tongues of Heaven’s Angels

Meditation (from “Thais”) ~ Massenet When Love Is found

Ode to Joy ~ Beethoven

Prelude in C ~ Bach

Trumpet Voluntary ~ Clarke (Purcell)

Responsorial Psalm (refrain sung by congregation)

Ps 1 “Happy are they who hope in God.” (vss. 1-2)

Ps. 4 “Let your face shine upon us, shine upon us, shine upon us.”

Ps 15 “Those who do justice will live in the presence of the Lord.”

Ps 16 “Keep me safe, O God: you are my hope.”

Ps 19 “Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.”

Ps 25 “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul, to you I lift my soul.”

Ps 34 “Let your mercy be on us, O God, as we place our trust in you.”

Ps 34 “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord, the goodness of the Lord.”

Ps 103 “The Lord is kind and merciful…”

Ps 118 “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.”

Ps 128 “Blest are those who love you, happy those who follow you….”

Ps 145 “I will praise your name, my King and my God.”

Mass Acclamations The Mass acclamations currently used at SJCC are used at the wedding ceremony. These particular Mass settings are on worship aides in the pews and are well-known in the parish, thus allowing the

majority of all present to actively participate in the Mass.

Communion Songs Behold the Lamb Now in This Banquet Bread for the World One Bread, One Body Bread of Life, Hope of the World Pan de Vida Eat This Bread Seed, Scattered and Sown Gift of Finest Wheat Song of the Body of Christ I Am the Bread of Life Supper of the Lord, The In the Breaking of the Bread Taste and See (2) Let Us Break Bread Together Ubi Caritas Look Beyond You Satisfy the Hungry Heart

Marian Presentation (optional) Ave Maria ~ Bach/Gounod Ave Maria ~ Schubert Hail Mary: Gentle Woman ~ Landry Holy Is His Name ~ Talbot Mary, Full of Grace ~ O DU FROLICHE Mary’s Song ~ Rieth On This Day, O Beautiful Mother ~ BEAUTIFUL MOTHER Sing of Mary ~ PLEADING SAVIOR

Recessional Instrumental Choral

Allegro Maestoso ~ Handel Blessing the Marriage

Entry of the Queen of Sheba ~ Handel In Love We Choose to Live

Ode to Joy ~ Beethoven Nuptial Blessing, A

Sunday Morning Suite ~ Mills Wherever You Go

Wedding March ~ Mendelssohn

Use of Organ and Piano

The accompanist may choose the Rodgers organ or the grand piano, whichever is most stylistically

appropriate to the

particular music selection.

We hope this brief guide has been helpful to you in preparing the

music for your wedding liturgy.

Please, if you have any questions or concerns contact: Mr. Lyle D. Peters, Pastoral Associate for Liturgy & Music (P.A.L.M.)

St. Joseph Catholic Community (443) 920-9110

petersl@saintjoseph.cc

Brochure by Lyle D. Peters, Pastoral Associate of Liturgy and Music

Approved by Rev. Neville ODonohue, S.M., Pastor

In accord with the norms and guidelines of the Roman Catholic Church

and the American Guild of Organists.

Effective for all weddings as of: August 1, 2016 Latest Revision: April 25. 2016