A Message From Our Pastor
Marriage Preparation and Annulments
One of the greatest joys I have as a priest is helping people. One of the most fulfilling ways I can help people is to help when someone is seeking Marriage in the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also a great gift to be an instrument of healing, as I help with an annulment from a prior marriage, so that these individuals can either seek a valid marriage or have their pre-existing civil union validated and blessed in the Church. These are often times very personal and at times heart wrenching conversations to have, but I also know that there is so much misunderstanding and false assumptions about the Church’s teaching on marriage, that many people avoid this difficult conversation because they think there is no solution to their problem.
Our Church teaches us about the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony:
“The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1660)
This great dignity of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is worth fighting for and something the Church has been defending against attacks since time immemorial. We can even see in the Gospel how people had a general level of confusion and came to Jesus seeking clarity and guidance on Marriage. (cf Matt 19:1 ff) Jesus explains that: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” (Matt 19:5-6)
Marriage is the backbone of any healthy society, not only for the benefit of the spouses but also for the children. “In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason, the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the Ecclesia domestica (the domestic Church).” (CCC 1656)
Marriage means more than just an agreement between two adults to live together; in addition marriage is NOT merely a piece of paper from a courthouse. “The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life.” (CCC 1661)
This is why it is so important to live a Sacramental Marriage bond, in order to receive from God and His Church those graces God is offering to spouses to live out this new creation in His Image. It is also critical, for us as believers, to acknowledge and honor this Sacred Institution by those of us who are married to live the Sacrament out faithfully, as well as by all of us to safeguard it from attack by protecting and respecting the innate dignity that the Sacrament of Matrimony and not permitting other civil unions or living arrangements to be equivocated to the great dignity of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. This is also why the Church teaches that when we step outside the definition of Marriage – as defined by our Lord – we cause a wound that prevents communion with our Savior. However, Christ, the Divine Physician, desires our healing and reconciliation, and wants to restore us to Communion and to heal all our wounds, and can, if we let Him.
There is much more that can be said about the topic of Marriage and the often-misunderstood topic of annulments, much more than the space of this article allows. I urge you to reach out to me. I can walk along aside you and answer any questions you might have and clear up any misconceptions you might have and help you on the path to being strengthened by God’s Grace in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony to help you and your spouse live a Happy and Holy Marriage!
God Bless,
Fr. Bennett
Sacred Heart of Jesus – Have Mercy on Us
Our Lady of the Rosary – Pray for Us
Sts. Michael the Archangel, Joseph, Peter, Paul, Augustine – Pray for Us