Hélène Bricout INTAMS review | Volume 16 | Issue 1 | Spring 2010 | Pages 27 > 33 La célébration du mariage entre tradition et développement: Réflexions à partir du Rituel francophone de 2005 Marriage Liturgy between Tradition and Renewal. Reflections Based on the Francophone Ritual of 2005 (Summary) To fully embrace the Good News of marriage, the "theology in action", which makes up the celebration according to the Roman Ritual in her French adaptation of 2005, puts forward a good initiative, drawing simultaneously on the tradition of the Church while remaining alert to the changes of our times; the Ritual, which particularly honours the spiritual dimension distinctive of sacramental marriage, giving to the celebration the character of the sanctification of the married couple by the Holy Spirit, and a missionary commission that is both humane and ecclesial from the moment of their conjugal vows. Because of its essential meaning, for the celebration of the sacrament to be experienced in a conscious and fruitful way, a certain progression of faith is necessary. In the actual context, this requirement of truth encourages the accompaniment of young couples, enabling them to find their bearings with regard to the Faith, the Church, the Gospel; in many cases, this may profitably take the form of a "proposition of the faith", to use the designated expression for the pastoral option recommended by the French bishops. One observes elsewhere that, more or less explicitly, couples are expectant of the opportunity for such development, since existential questions arise through the crucial engagement they are preparing to take, and the commitment of the Church to the fidelity and the unicity of the marriage gives her a guiding role. Supported by an accompaniment that takes into account the maturing of the commitment, and the (re)discovery of the gospel of Christ and of the faith of the Church, the “church” marriage may become the setting for a truly humane and spiritual progression. Hélène Bricout (née 1970, mariée, quatre enfants) est directrice-adjointe de l’Institut Supérieur de Liturgie à l’Institut Catholique de Paris et maître de conférences à l’ISL. Elle y enseigne Histoire de la liturgie et Théologie et liturgie des sacrements. Principales publications: "Le ministre du sacrement de mariage: Aux origines de la controverse: Melchior Cano et Robert Bellarmin", in: La Maison-Dieu 244 (2005/4), 69-90; "Gestes et attitudes dans le nouveau Rituel du mariage", in: La Maison-Dieu 247 (2006/3), 179-190; "Peut-on se marier sans un acte public?", in: La Maison-Dieu 254 (2008/2), 75-84 (traduction anglaise parue dans Studia Liturgica 38 (2008), 191-196 sous le titre "Can One Be Married Without a Public Ceremony? Theological Questions Surrounding a Social Fact").