Judith Marie Kubicki The Ritual Function of Music in the Marriage Liturgy (Summary) Because it is symbolizing activity, music-making has the potential to mediate identity, relationships, and participation in all sorts of rituals. Music has traditionally played a significant role in marriage rites, but there has not always been consensus on the nature of its role or the type of music that is appropriate. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum concilium, 1963) promulgated by the Second Vatican Council, offers principles that can assist in understanding music=s role in liturgical rites, particularly the marriage liturgy. The sacramental celebration of Christian marriage is a ritual composed of a nexus of symbols. Their ultimate task is twofold: (1) to mediate the revelation of the God of Jesus Christ as it is proclaimed through the public commitment of the man and woman entering into marriage; and (2) to mediate the community’s response to that revelation of grace as it is witnessed in the sacramental event. Indeed, as Christian sacrament, marriage proclaims, makes explicit, and celebrates meanings that reach beyond the ordinary meanings of marriage in human society. Marriage is the symbolizing sacrament of the steadfast covenant between God and God’s people. All liturgical symbols B music included B are intended to mediate this theological meaning. Marriage as sacrament is an event of faith and an event of the Church. The role of music is to assist the couple and the assembly in weaving and reweaving relationships and identity so that they might see their life’s journey and commitments in light of God’s love and God’s grace. Popular love songs, despite their sentimental value, typically cannot do this. Furthermore, the music needs to acknowledge that the marriage liturgy is a public event of the Church. Music that has meaning only for the bride and groom or is unfamiliar or too difficult for the assembly is inappropriate. Liturgical wedding music needs to be chosen from a repertoire the community recognizes as its own. Well-chosen music will enable the Church to both exhibit and shape a deep and abiding faith in the steadfast love of God mirrored in the lives of the wedded couple. This faith is “danced out and sung out” in ways that assist the couple and the entire community to “build their world” in the sight of a gracious God and in mutual love and fidelity.