Wedding Sermons for Second Marriages - A Covenant Renewed in Love (Jeremiah 31:31-32a, 33-34a; Romans 8:31b-35, 37-39; John 2:1-11)

Dear [Name] and [Name], family and friends, we gather today in the presence of God to witness and bless the sacred covenant of marriage these two beloved children of God will make with one another. As we begin, let us ask God's blessing: Loving Father, pour out your grace upon [Name] and [Name] as they enter this covenant of love. May your presence guide them always. Amen.

Today, we celebrate a "Covenant Renewed in Love" – a powerful theme that flows through the beautiful Scripture readings [Name] and [Name] have chosen for this special day.

Your selected readings speak profoundly to this covenant renewed in love. In Jeremiah, God promises a new covenant, written not on stone but on human hearts. In Romans, Paul proclaims a love from which nothing can separate us. And at Cana, Jesus transforms ordinary water into extraordinary wine, just as he transforms our ordinary love into something divine.

In Jeremiah 31:33, God declares, "I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people." This is the essence of covenant – not a mere contract of obligations, but a relationship of love inscribed on the very center of our being.

This covenant renewed in love appears vividly throughout your readings. In Jeremiah, we hear God promising a new beginning. The prophet tells us this covenant is different from those broken before – it's not written on fragile tablets but etched into our hearts. What a beautiful image for marriage! Your love for each other isn't just a piece of paper signed today, but a reality God writes upon your hearts, transforming you from within.

In Romans 8:35, Paul asks the profound question: "What will separate us from the love of Christ?" He then proclaims that nothing – "neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature" – can separate us from God's love. This same covenant faithfulness becomes the model for your marriage. When you face challenges – and you will – remember that your love, like God's love, can overcome all obstacles when renewed daily through grace.

At Cana, in John 2, we witness Jesus' first public miracle – transforming water into wine at a wedding feast. This wasn't just about saving a celebration from embarrassment. The best wine coming last symbolizes how God's covenant love surpasses our expectations. The six stone jars used for ritual purification now hold something new – representing how Christ transforms the old covenant into something richer and more abundant. Your marriage, too, will be this ongoing transformation, where ordinary moments become extraordinary through love.

[Name] and [Name], this covenant renewed in love will be lived out in your marriage each day. You've already experienced God's faithfulness in bringing you together, and now you enter a new chapter where this covenant takes on even deeper meaning. As you begin this second marriage, you bring with you the wisdom that comes from life's journey. Like the prophet Jeremiah who spoke of a new covenant after the first was broken, you understand in a profound way that God is always offering us new beginnings.

Your second marriage is itself a powerful testimony to the God of second chances, the God who makes all things new. The theme of covenant renewed in love speaks directly to your experience. You have known both the pain of a broken covenant and the healing grace that allows us to trust and love again. This gives you a unique appreciation for the preciousness of the commitment you make today.

In your daily choices to forgive, to listen, to sacrifice for one another – this is where covenant becomes real. The wisdom, growth, and deeper understanding you bring to this marriage enriches your capacity for covenant love. Like the stone jars at Cana, your lives are being filled with something new – a love transformed and blessed by Christ's presence. Your past experiences haven't diminished your capacity for covenant love but have prepared you to embrace it more fully.

The Catholic understanding of marriage reflects this covenant renewed in love perfectly. Marriage isn't simply a human arrangement but a sacrament – a visible sign of God's invisible grace. In your mutual self-gift, you make present Christ's covenant with his Church. As the Catechism teaches, this sacramental bond is "ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring" (CCC 1601).

Your covenant today is both human and divine – you make promises to each other, but God is the one who seals and strengthens these promises. Just as at Cana, Christ is present at your wedding, blessing your union and transforming your natural love into something supernatural through his grace.

To nurture this covenant renewed in love throughout your marriage, I offer three practical suggestions:

First, practice daily renewal. Just as God's mercies are "new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23), let your love be renewed each day. Begin each morning by choosing each other again – perhaps through a simple prayer together or words of affirmation that remind you of your covenant.

Second, keep Christ at the center, like Mary did at Cana when she said, "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). When challenges arise, turn to prayer together. Create sacred space in your home and in your schedule for spiritual connection. Remember that your covenant includes not just two, but three – you, your spouse, and God.

Third, celebrate transformation. Like water into wine, let God transform your ordinary moments into extraordinary memories. Notice and mark the small miracles in your daily life together – the ways you grow, the unexpected joys, the grace that appears when you most need it. These become the "best wine" of your marriage.

[Name] and [Name], as you exchange your vows today, you enter fully into this covenant renewed in love. Like the new covenant written on hearts in Jeremiah, your love becomes inscribed on each other's very being. Like the unbreakable bond Paul describes in Romans, may nothing separate you from each other's love. And like the miracle at Cana, may Christ continually transform your ordinary days into extraordinary expressions of grace.

In this second marriage, you embody the truth that God's faithfulness endures even when human relationships falter. Your willingness to commit again speaks of courage, hope, and trust in God's redeeming love. The covenant you make today is enriched by the lessons of the past and strengthened by the wisdom you've gained along the way.

May God who has brought you together strengthen your hearts in this covenant of love, so that what God joins together today, no one may put asunder. May your love be renewed each day, growing ever deeper, ever stronger, through all the seasons of your life together.