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Inner Life of a Catholic

The Profession of Faith 

Societal changes in recent times is seeing a dramatic change in the legal status of marriage with the legislative introduction of same-sex unions. These unions can never be called 'marriages' because they do not contain any of the criteria for a valid marriage. These laws are simply legalising the immorality of homosexuality, agreed as an evil throughout the Judeo-Christian traditions, laid down by God in the Ten Commandments and decried throughout Biblical history from time began and up to the past 20 years or so. Satan has surely taken over governments,  legislators and the judiciary when we see this type of legislation becoming law! No amount of legislation will ever make it right!

Marriage in the Old Testament. 

The Jews revered the marriage bond, which was instituted by God (Gen. 2:23-24) and protected by His commandments (Ex. 20:14,17) and the Law (Lev. 20:10). However, marriage under the Old Law was not sacramental, and there is no mention in the Old Testament of any religious ceremony connected with marriage. In early times the wedding seems to have been little more than a betrothal (Gen. 24:63-67). Later, however, much importance is attached to the marriage procession and the marriage feast, which seem to have acquired a ritual character (Judg. 14; Ps. 44:15; 1 Mach. 9:37; Matt. 9:15; etc.). 

Marriage was forbidden in certain degrees of kindred (Lev. 18), but a brother was to marry the widow of his deceased brother, in order to propagate his name (Deut. 25 :5,10) ; if no brother survived, the nearest kinsman was to assume the responsibility (Ruth 3:12; 4:4-10). This is calleq levirate marriage. 

Polygamy was permitted in the time of the patriarchs (Gen. 4:19; 16:3; 26:34; 28 :9; 29 :28; 30 :3 ff.) and was recognized by the Law of Moses (Ex. 21 :9-10), though it was not encouraged (Lev. 18:18; Deut. 17:17). Nobles and kings, especially, had many wives or concubines (2 Kings 3:2-5; 3 Kings 11:3), though the Law warned against this (Deut. 17:17). 

However, many of the great patriarchs (Adam, Noe, Isaac) married but once, and the constant references of the prophets to marriage as a symbol of the union of God and His People must have served to remind the Jews of the ideal of unity in marriage. Divorce was permitted in certain circumstances (Deut. 24:1) upon presentation of a "bill of divorce" (Is. 50:1;Jer. 3:8). 

Marriage Feast.

A most solemn occasion in the life of a Jew. It was preceded by a great deal of preparation, especially on the part of the bride. The most elegant finery available was gathered for her. The groom would go to the home of the bride on the night of the feast and would lead her to his own home. Awaiting his arrival the bride would be surrounded by her maids, who carried lamps and held themselves in readiness to cheer the groom and "the friends of the groom" when they came. After the cheering all would go in procession amid music and song to the groom's house, and the feast would begin in earnest (Matt. 25 :1-t3). 

Our Lord Himself attended such a marriage feast in Cana and it was there He worked His first miracle, thus showing His approval of such feasts and sanctifying them {John 2:1-10). He also used the image of the marriage feast in some of His parables (Matt. 22:1-14; 25:1- 13; Luke 14:7-11). Saint John uses this image to depict the glorious reunion of Christ and His Church in heaven (Apoc. 19 :7 -9). 

Unity of Marriage. 

The natural law requires that marriage is between one man and one woman only, for unions which violate this principle tend to defeat the ends of marriage. 

Polyandry (the union of one woman with several husbands) resuIts in disruption of domestic harmony and jeopardizes the education of offspring, since the responsibility for their upbringing cannot be certainly charged to any one husband, moreover, it tends to make the wife sterile. 

Polygyny (union of one husband with several wives) degrades woman, promotes disruptive jealousy and rivalry; and tends to prevent the adequate education of the children by the father. It is the less evIl of the two vices, not being opposed to primary precepts of the natural law, and God permitted it for a time among the Israelites. 

This dispensation of the Old Law was abrogated by Christ, who said: "Whoever puts away his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if the wife puts away her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" (Mark 10:11-12).

Marriage, Dispensations from Impediments.

The pope is empowered to dispense from all impediments to marriage which do not arise from the natural law. He cannot dispense from: 

• first-degree consanguinity in the direct line - siblings; 
• antecedent, perpetual impotence; 
• a previous consummated marriage between baptized persons; insufficient age, when , the person concerned is below the age of reason. 

• first-degree consanguinity in the collateral line (brother and sister) ; 
• the crime of conjugicide, when murder is publicly known. 

• second-degree consanguinity in the collateral line (first cousins) ; 
• affinity in the direct line arising from a conummated marriage; 
• abduction; 
• sacred orders. 

• third-degree consanguinity in the collateral line (second cousins) ; 
• public decency; 
• spiritual relationship; 
• disparity of cult. 

Form of Marriage. 

Canon law prescribes that all marriages between Catholics or between Catholics and non-Catholics be celebrated in the presence of an authorized priest and two witnesses. This form is required for the validity of the marriage. The witnesses must be physically and morally present and must know that consent is being exchanged. The priest must be authorized, i.e., have jurisdiction in the place where the marriage is celebrated. By exception, military chaplains and other personal pastors may marry persons belonging to their jurisdiction regardless of territory; but the authority of the chaplain is not exclusive, i.e. the local pastor also has jurisdiction over the subjects of a personal pastor as long as they are in his parish. 

Impediments to Marriage. 

Certain circumstances which render marriage unlawful or invalid. Prohibitive impediments make a marriage illicit, but they do not invalidate it. They include the following: 

• Simple vows of virginity, perfect chastity, and simple vows to enter religion, to receive sacred orders, or not to marry make a marriage illicit, but not invalid. 
• Legal relationship arising from adoption, where this would make marriage illicit under civil law; is also prohibitive under canon law. 
• Mixed religion obtains where one party is a Catholic and the other a non-Catholic validly baptized in a heretical or schismatic sect. The prohibition also applies to marriage of a Catholic with a baptized person who belongs or has belonged to an atheistic sect such as Communism. 

• Insufficient age. The lowest marriageable age is 16 years for a man, 14 for a woman. 
• Perpetual impotence of either party, dating from before the marriage. This means incapacity to perforrn the marital act; it does not mean sterility. 
• Bond of prior marriage. A previous valid marriage, whether consummated or not, which has not been legally and certainly established as dissolved invalidates a second marriage
• Disparity of cult. This impediment nullifies marriage between an unbaptizcd person and one baptized in or converted to the Catholic faith. 
• Sacred orders. Clerics in major orders (subdeacons, deacons, priests, and bishops) cannot validly marry. 
• Solemn vows. Religious who have taken solemn vows cannot validly marry. 
• Abduction. This invalidates marriage between a man and a woman whom he abducts or detains violently in order to force her to marry. The impediment exists only during the period of abduction or detention. 
• Crime. Marriage is invalid between two persons guilty of any of the following three crimes: 

a) Adultery accompanied either by a promise of marriage between the adulterous couple or by their attempt at civil marriage. 
b) Adultery accompanied by murder of the lawful spouse by one of the adulterers. 
c) Mutual co.operation in the murder of the lawful spouse of one of the two conspirators, whether or not they have committed adultery. 
• Consanguinity. Blood relationship in the direct line (i.e., between father and daughter, grandfather and grand-daughter, etc.) invalidates marriage regardless of the degree of relation- ship. It invalidates marriages between relations in the coliateral line up to the third degree inclusive (i.e., between brother and sister, first cousins, second cousins). 
• Affinity. This is the relationship which a valid mar-riage creates between a husband and his wife's bIood-relatives, and between a wife and her husband's blood relative. Affinity in any degree of the direct line invalidates marriage. Thus a widow or widower may not marry a parent or grandparent or a direct descendant of the deceased spouse. In the collateral line, affinity is a diriment impediment up to the second degree, prohibiting marriage of a widow or widower with a sister, brother, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, or first cousin of the deceased spouse. 
• Pubtic decency. A relationship resembling affinity arises from an invalid marriage or a notorious concubinage. This bars a party to such a union from marriage with persona related to the other party of the union in the first or second degree of the direct line. 
• Spiritual retationship. The relationship arising from Baptism invalidates the marriage of the baptized person with his sponsor or with the minister of the sacrament. 
• Legal relationship. Where relationship by adoption would invalidate marriage under the civil law, it is an invalidating impediment under canon law. 

Church law requires that the pastor publicly announce the names of those who intending to wed. The announcement must be made during divine services (jn three successive Sundays or holy days. The requirement may be fulfilled by public posting in the church during an eight-day period, including two holy days, if the bishop of the place allows it; or, for a just cause and at the prudent discretion of the bishop, it may be completely dispensed. The banns are not ordinarily announced for a mixed marriage. Since the purpose of the banns is to discover any existing impediments to the marriage, the announcement should mention the obligation of the faithful to reveal any knowledge of such impediments.

Marital Letters of Freedom

Where either one or other of the couple, if Catholic, has been living away from their family parish for a period of longer than 6 months, they must receive a letter of freedom from their family praish priest and any subsequent parishes in which they have resided for a period of longer than 6 months prior to their intended marriage.

Marriage Consent.

Mutual consent, duly manifested, is required for the validity of a marriage. Canon law defines Consent as an act of the will by which each party gives and accepts a perpetual and exclusive right over the body, for acts which are of themselves suitable for the generation of children. The contracting parties must be present either in person or by proxy (see Marriage by Proxy), and the consent must be manifested by words or, if the parties cannnot speak, by equivalent signs.

Consent is so essential to the validity of a marriage that no human power can dispense from it or supply it if it is lacking. Moreover, consent, even when given, might be defective in some regard and thus render a marriage invalid. The ways in which consent might be defective and make a marriage null include the following : 

• A marriage would be invalid if only eternal consent were given and either or both parties positively willed "to exclude marriage itself, or all right to the marital act, or any essential property of marriage" 
• A marriage would be invalid if the consent were not manifested externally either by words or signs. 
• Substantial error regarding the identity of the person with whom the marriage is contracted would render the marriage null. 
• Complete ignorance the nature of marriage would also lnvalidate a marriage. The minimum knowledge required is that marriage is a permanent society between a man and a woman for the procreation of children. 
• If one of the parties is compelIed to enter the marriage through physical force or through grave and unjust fear, the marriage would be invalid. 
• Certain conditions attach to marital consent might also render a marriage null. 

A marriage in which one of the parties is not present at the celebration, but is represented by an agent. The person to be represented must supply the agent with wrltten authority, signed by himself and by the pastor or ordinary or their delegate, or by at least two wittiesses. If the party cannot write, the fact must be noted in the document, and an additional signing witness is required. 

Marriage Ceremonies. 

The f'orm of the ritual may vary considerably in different rites and different countries. In the form of marrige customarily used in the United States for marriage between two Catholics, the ritual consists of three parts : 

• the exchange of consent; 
• the: blessing of the ring; 
• a few versicles and responses and a concluding prayer. 

For the exchange of consent the priest first questions both parties as to their Congent ("Wilt thou take here present, for thy lawful' wife;" etc.). After both parties have expressed their consent in answer to the priest's questions, both parties formally pledge their acceptance of each other ("I take thee for my lawful wife, to have and to hold," etc.). The priest then bears witness to the consent just expressed, by saying "1 you in holy matrimony in the title of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." Then he sprinkles the couple with holy water .

The priest next blesses the ring with a short formula and sprinkles it with holy water. Then the groom places the ring on the finger of the bride, saying, "With this ring; I thee wed," etc. In a common additIon to the ceremony, the bride presents a ring to the groom.

The prayer with which the marriage ceremony concludes begs God to bless and strengthen the union just entered by the couple. 

For a mixed marriage the ceremony is much shorter. The consent must be asked and received by the Priest, as in a marriage of two Catholics; but all sacred rites are forbidden. Ordinarily, the ceremony may not be held in church.

Mixed Marriage. 

A marriage in which one party is a Catholic and the other a non-Catholic. The Church prohibits such marriages, but grants dispensations under the following conditions: 

• There must be just and grave reasons for dispensing. 
• The non.Catholic must promise to remove all danger to the faith of the Catholic, and both parties must promise to baptize and educate all their children in the Catholic faith. 
• There must be moral certainty that the guarantees will be fulfilled. To emphasize its disapproval of mixed marriages the Church prohibits the usual sacred rites. The banns are not published, the nuptial Mass and Blessing are forbidden, and, except with the permission of the local bishop, the wedding ceremony is not performed in the church. It is usually performed in the rectory.

Where a marriage has been found null because of an impediment (which has ceased to exist) or defect of form, but the natural consent still obtains, the Church may, for a grave reason, dispense from renewal of consent and validate the marriage (retroactively as far as canonical effects are concerned). This type of validation is called sanatio in radice, a healing at the root. 

In popular parlance an inaccurate and misleading phrase is often used to designate the validation of an invalid marriage, namely, "blessing the marriage." Thus, an invalidly married Catholic might say that he needs to have his marriage "blessed." However, what he really needs is to be married. The validation of an invalid marriage is a marriage. When two people are invalidly married, they are simply not married, even though they may have gone through a marriage ceremony and are living together.

Time of Marriage. 

Marriage may be performed at any time. At no time of the year (even Advent and Lent) is marriage forbidden. However, the nuptial blessing is not given during Advent and Lent, except with the special pernission of the local bishop. And when this permission is given, the couple should abstain from excessive festivity. According to the general law of the Church, marriages may be performed at any time of the day or any day of the week. However, local church laws may restrict the time, e.g., by forbidding weddlngs In the evening.

Indissolubility of Marriage.

The natural law (its secondary precepts) requires that marriage be indissoluble, for only through a permanent union can the primary and secondary ends of marriage be adequately attained. The indissolubility of the marriage bond was affirmed by Christ when He said: "What therefore God hath joined together; let no man put asunder" (Matt. 19 ;6; Mark 10:9}. In the Old Testament God had permitted the dissulution of marriage, or divorce. And, today, unconsummated marriages of the faithful and marriages of infidels, among themselves or with a baptized person, may in special circumstanees be dissolved, for these are not absolutely indissoluble. But a consummated marriage between Christians can be broken only by the death of one of the spouses. For Christian marriage reproduces the perfect union between Christ and His Church (Eph. 5 :32), and must be as enduring as its prototype.

Marital Separation.

The law of the Church requires that husband and wife live together, but permits separation for a just reason. Complete, perpetual separation by mutual consent is permitted when both parties wish to enter religion and the children have been duly provided for. Without mutual consent, separation may be obtaintd, only on one of the following conditions: 

• If either party commits adultery, the other spouse may cease cohabiting, providing he did not cause, consent to, condone the adultery, or commit the same crime. 
• If one spouse joins a non-Catholic sect, educates the children as non-Catholics, leads a criminal ignominius life, exposes tho other spouse to grave danger of body or soul, by cruelty renders the common life too difficult, or does something similar to the above which make cohabitation too great a burdert, the innocent party may separate but only with the permission of the local bishop. 

Marriage, Declaration of Nullity.

A declaration by the Church that a reputed marriage is null and void because of a diriment impediment existing at the time of the marriage, lack of form (i.e., not celebrated before an authorized priest and two witnesses), or lack of consent. In cases of cliefect fJfform in the marriage of two Catholics or in a mixed marriage, the marriage may be declared null by the local bishop, or by the pastor after consulting the local bishop, when the obligation of the parties to observe the form and their failure to do so have been proved. Where there is an alleged impediment of disparity of cult, sacred orders, solemn vow of chastity, the bonds of a previous valid marriage, consanguinity, affinity, or spiritual relationship, evidence must be presented to prove the existence of the impediment and the lack of a dispensation. The marriage may then be declared null by the local bishop. Cases other than these require a formal trial in the diocesan courts or in the Rota.

Dissolution of Marriage

A valid marriage between two baptized persons that is consummated can be dissolved only by the death of one of the spouses. However, in four instances, other marriages may be dissolved. 

• The bond may be dissolved, even between baptized persons, by papal authority, if the marriage has not been consummated. 
• It may be dissolved in similar circumstances by the solemn vow of religious profession by either party. 
• In a marriage between unbaptized persons, the natural bond may be dissolved if one of the parties becomes a Christian and, the other spouse remaining an infidel and refusing to cohabit peaceably, the Christian wishes to marry a Catholic
• In a marriage between an infidel and a baptized non-Catholic, the natural bond may be dissolved in favor of the faith if the spouses are irreconcilably alienated and one of them, becoming a Catholic, wishes to marry a Catholic.