Weddings & Marriage / Holy Orders
Sacraments of Service
Marriage (and Weddings)
The first public miracle of Jesus took place at the wedding at Cana, and Jesus spoke deliberately about the sacredness of the bond between husband and wife. Our parish delights in lifting up those who are preparing to respond to this sacred, sacramental vocation from God, and we look forward to providing formation for the life-long thriving of your union.
Initial contact to schedule and prepare for marriage must be made a minimum of six months prior to the wedding date the couple has chosen; this is a diocesan policy which allow for sufficient time for the couple to complete marriage preparation prior to entering into this life-long, sacred union. At least one of the couple must be Catholic.
Preparation consists of meetings with the Director of Marriage Preparation, Directors of Liturgy & Music, and the priest or deacon who will witness your marriage. In addition to these meetings, you will need to complete FOCUS (a couple communication evaluation) as well as participate in the Couple to Couple Ministry and/or attend an Engaged Encounter. This will be coordinated through the Director of Marriage Preparation.
It is the couple’s responsibility to call the Director of Marriage Preparation to set up the first initial appointment and to have their marriage preparation, including their liturgy planning and the payment of all fees completed at least one month prior to their wedding date.
Please contact Director of Marriage Preparation, Paul Duncil, at pdun@stthomasbillings.org for questions or to begin your marriage preparation journey.
Important documents pertaining to the marriage preparation process, including a liturgy planning form, financial agreement, etc. may be found here:
"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament... The spouses as ministers of Christ's grace mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church."
- Catechism of the Catholic Church nos. 1601, 1623
Holy Orders
Ordination to the priesthood is always a call and a gift from God. Christ reminded his Apostles that they needed to ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest. Those who seek priesthood respond generously to God's call using the words of the prophet, "Here I am, send me" (Is 6:8). This call from God can be recognized and understood from the daily signs that disclose his will to those in charge of discerning the vocation of the candidate.
- from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
To learn more about the priesthood, go here.
To discuss a priestly vocation: contact Fr. Steve at 406-656-5800 x 308.