Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 25th Sunday of Ordinary time.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! The sacrament of Holy Marriage is treated by the Catechism of the Catholic Churchin eight (8) In Brief passages. The following is a reflection on article 1665.
Wholesale “no-fault” divorce and remarriage seems rampant in society today. A study of 1995 marital statistics published in 2001 by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) highlights marital success for those who complete the first ten years, while 1/5 of marriages end within five (5) years and 1/3 end within ten (10) years. This provides Mother Church the opportunity to recommit boldly to the sure and certain teaching received from Christ the Bridegroom regarding the indissolubility of Holy Marriage. Christ makes explicit the design and law of God regarding the indissolubility of Holy Marriage in Saint Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-12 and Saint Mark 10:2-12.
The common axiom of jurisprudence is that we are “innocent until proven guilty.” So too in the Church. Once a couple legitimately exchanges the vows of Holy Marriage, they are presumed to actually be married. Non-Catholics are free to exchange their vows according to any legal form. Catholics are bound by canonical form in order to exchange the vows of Holy Marriage validly. This is what the Catechism means when addressing those who have a “living legitimate spouse.” The legitimate spouses are those spouses who actually pronounced the vows, effecting that partnership of the whole of life, until death (without any recourse to crimes against the Fifth Commandment).
That the divorced and remarried are not separated from the Church should be a consolation. Whenever any of us sadly sin mortally, thereby leaving the state of grace, we do not thereby leave the Church. Acting badly, as if we have not been baptized, or confirmed, or married, or ordained… does not change the fact.
Saint Paul’s exhortation to examine ourselves lest we receive the Eucharist unto our condemnation is not limited in it’s application only to those who are divorced and remarried (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29). Anyone who is sadly in a state of serious, grave, or mortal sin, does not have access to Eucharistic Communion. The Sacrament of Penance is the way to regain the grace lost by sin. Part of a good Confession includes the firm intention, with the help of God’s grace to sin no more and to avoid whatever leads us to sin. Those who are bound by the civil laws of marriage while bound by the law of Christ find themselves in an irregular situation at best. Not all cases submitted to the Ecclesiastical Tribunals result in a declaration of nullity, in part because Marriage enjoys the favor of the law and once a valid Marriage has been established no one should put it asunder (cf. Matthew 19:6). While not having access to eucharistic communion those who are divorced and remarried, without a decree of nullity, lead their lives notably in educating their children in the faith, encouraging fidelity and holiness all the while.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr