An Inculturation Model of the Catholic Marriage Ritual

In An Inculturation Model of the Catholic Marriage Ritual, David William Antonio presents a model of how the Catholic Ritual of Marriage may be adapted to the language, culture and traditions of a particular people, specifically, the ilocanos of Northern Luzon in the Philippines. Vatican II called for the revision and adaptation of the rite of marriage, exhorting local churches to develop their own rites suited to their people's particular customs and traditions. The work of preparing a rite of marriage for a particular region cannot be limited to merely translating the typical edition. There has to be a thorough examination of both the editio typica and the people's religious and cultural traditions, the socio-economic and political realities that confront them, attending to the positive values expressed therein. Only a dialogical process such as this will guarantee a liturgy that is faithful to the Christian tradition and meaningful to a given people. An Inculturation Model of the Catholic Marriage Ritual will serve as a model for people of other cultures who have to do similar liturgical preparation and will be important especially to churches whose membership includes people who experienced colonization but never lost the riches of their own cultures in the blending of cultures and beliefs that followed.

Antonio is spiritual director and professor at Immacualte Conception School of Theology, Regional Major Seminary for Northern Luzon in the Philippines.