Is this reading appropriate if we already have children together?

Yes. The verses speak of marriage as a calling that includes children but is not measured solely by them. Couples who are convalidating, remarrying, or who already have children together often find the reading affirming rather than awkward.

Some lines mention "dominion over" the earth. Does that read poorly today?

It can sound jarring without context. The Hebrew word translated "dominion" means responsible stewardship, not exploitation. If you're concerned, ask your celebrant to address it in the homily, or choose Genesis 2:18-24 instead.

Can this reading be used at a convalidation or vow renewal?

Yes. It can be especially fitting at those liturgies because it places the marriage inside the longer arc of creation rather than the moment of a single ceremony.

Does using this reading commit us to anything specific about children?

The Church already asks every couple to be open to children as part of valid consent; this reading doesn't add to that. It is a blessing on creation, not a test.

First Reading (Old Testament)

Genesis 1:26-28, 31a

"Male and female he created them"

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Scripture text (World English Bible)

God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Themes

covenant of creation
image of God
fruitfulness
complementarity
very good

Reflection

The opening reading from Genesis sets your wedding within the very first chapter of the Bible's story. Long before sin or the need for redemption, God speaks man and woman into being together: equally bearing his image, equally blessed, equally entrusted with the earth. The Catholic tradition has always read these verses as the "covenant of creation": marriage was God's idea before it was ever a sacrament, woven into the fabric of what it means to be human.

Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body opened from precisely this passage. He saw in it the truth that man and woman are made for communion, not because either is incomplete in some defective sense, but because the love between them is meant to mirror, however faintly, the eternal communion of love within the Trinity. To be made in God's image is, in part, to be made for the self-gift of one to another.

The reading also speaks of fruitfulness: "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth." For Catholic couples, openness to children is not an optional add-on to married love but part of its native shape. This need not look the same in every marriage; faithful couples who carry the cross of infertility or who adopt are no less married. But it does mean approaching marriage as a place where love can become life.

The closing line sets the tone for everything that follows: "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Your marriage begins inside that "very good": a creation God himself has called blessed.

Best for

·Couples who want to ground their marriage in the goodness of creation rather than cultural sentiment
·Weddings that include children or a strong family-and-fertility theme
·Interfaith ceremonies where a foundationally biblical reading is preferred to overtly sacramental language
·Couples drawn to John Paul II's Theology of the Body
·Garden or outdoor weddings where the beauty of creation is part of the setting

In the liturgy

One of the most frequently chosen first readings for Catholic weddings, especially when the priest plans to preach on the dignity of marriage as part of God's original design. It works in both the Nuptial Mass and the Rite of Marriage outside Mass. The text is short, so it sets a confident tone without slowing the opening of the liturgy.

Pairs well with

Frequently asked questions

Is this reading appropriate if we already have children together?: Yes. The verses speak of marriage as a calling that includes children but is not measured solely by them. Couples who are convalidating, remarrying, or who already have children together often find the reading affirming rather than awkward.
Some lines mention "dominion over" the earth. Does that read poorly today?: It can sound jarring without context. The Hebrew word translated "dominion" means responsible stewardship, not exploitation. If you're concerned, ask your celebrant to address it in the homily, or choose Genesis 2:18-24 instead.
Can this reading be used at a convalidation or vow renewal?: Yes. It can be especially fitting at those liturgies because it places the marriage inside the longer arc of creation rather than the moment of a single ceremony.
Does using this reading commit us to anything specific about children?: The Church already asks every couple to be open to children as part of valid consent; this reading doesn't add to that. It is a blessing on creation, not a test.

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