PARISH of the HOLY EUCHARIST

Since you're here, you may be wondering: "Is my marriage recognized by the Church?" You're not alone. Ordinarily, Catholic Church law requires baptized Roman Catholics to marry before a priest or deacon. Unless they received a “dispensation from canonical form,” Catholics who exchange vows in the presence of ministers from other religious traditions or civil officials are not considered validly married in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

Regardless of what happened in the past, the Catholic Church invites you to bring new meaning to your lives by embracing the vocation of marriage and dedicating your family’s mission to sharing God’s love, through the process of convalidation.
 

Convalidation is the process by which a couple brings their already existing civil union into the Catholic Church. It is much more than the Church just simply "blessing" a marriage." In the process of convalidation, the couple makes a new act of consent, consenting to all the elements needed for a marriage (monogamy, love, desire for children, fidelity to each other).

Catholic Marriage is unique among other marital relationships because it is a sacrament that makes Christ present in our world. The relationship between husband and wife mirrors the relationship of Jesus Christ for his people. 

In the Catholic tradition, husband and wife accept a role in God’s plan for humanity. They are ambassadors of God’s love, and they collaborate with God to keep humanity alive.

The vows exchanged by the couple are a sacred pact through which the spouses embrace each other, and, together, embrace Jesus as their partner. Through their union with Christ they participate in the unbreakable pact between God and humanity: the covenant that was sealed in the death and resurrection of Christ.

One of the many benefits of a sacramental marriage is the power of God’s grace, which helps couples keep their commitment and find happiness together. Social scientists are finding that couples who recognize God’s presence in their relationship experience more satisfaction and are more likely to achieve lifelong marriage.

All in all, couples who choose to bring their marriage into the Church receive many gifts – peace of heart, communion with the Church, the fullness of the sacraments, and God’s special blessing upon their marriage.

'Father's homily this weekend struck a personal note with me as he was explaining how Jesus' plan to change the world, to save the world, is by changing one human heart at a time. It reminded me that this has been true in my own life as well, with my heart having been changed by Jesus in the Eucharist. 

You see, like many of us I would imagine, at various times in our lives, I had been away from the Eucharist. For me it had been about a year. During my time away, I likely didn't notice the day-to-day difference it was making in my life, until my soon to be husband and I were about to be married. And when I say, "about to be married," I mean the ceremony was 48 hours away. 

We had been having so much conflict and such difficulty communicating, it reached a point that two days before we were supposed to say, "I do," he pulled me aside and asked if I really wanted to go through with it. He brought up many reasons why it appeared we shouldn't; reasons that have everything to do with the secular world and why people call it quits. 

Reasons that, if you put them to paper in a list, any secular person would look at that list and say, yeah, you guys would be out of your minds to get married. And, for a moment, if I'm being honest, I didn't, couldn't disagree. Things had become so difficult and strained between us it seemed we couldn't even start a benign conversation about something not even particularly sensitive or difficult without it somehow turning into a knockdown, drag out (figuratively speaking) fight. 

It was terribly depressing and hurtful; for both of us. I didn't understand what was happening. However, knowing that on some level we really did love one another and wanted to be together, we decided to honor our commitment to each other and two days later we were married (looking back, that was all God). 

Shortly thereafter I returned to the Eucharist. And like I told Father, it's almost as if a miracle took place. My hostility, anger and the impatience that I was feeling and demonstrating so selfishly on my end vanished. Literally disappeared. Our home is a completely different place (my home is at peace because my soul is at peace through the Eucharist). 

We have not had one quarrel since. Our communication has improved a thousand fold. For Valentine's Day that year, my husband said many wonderful and loving things to me in my card, but the best was him thanking me for my love and commitment on our journey that has been far from easy, but still better together. I know that at least for me, I was and am strengthened in a real and tangible way by the Eucharist in my ability to sustain that commitment, and to feel true joy. 

Jesus is real and present in my heart through the Eucharist. He sustains and carries me. I am forever grateful and never want to be away from Jesus again. So, if there is anything in your life - anything, no matter what it is - that is keeping you from the Eucharist, run, don't walk, to the Sacrament of Confession. Talk to one of our wonderful priests. Pray. And Jesus will be working in you, changing yet another human heart on His way to changing - saving - the world.'" -A POTHE Parishioner

If a Catholic wishes to marry in the Church when there has been a previous marriage for either party, the partner in the earlier union must have died or the Church must have issued a declaration of nullity (frequently called an annulment) of the previous marriage.

The Catholic Church presumes all marriage to be valid, unless proven otherwise. Thus, it considers the marriage of two Protestant, Jewish or even non-believing persons, any of whom marry according to their own tradition, to be binding in the eyes of God. Consequently, a tribunal process is required to establish that an essential ingredient in the relationship was missing from the start of the previous marriage.

For Catholics with a prior marriage outside the Church, the declaration of nullity is based on what is called a “lack of canonical form.” For Catholics with a prior “valid” marriage, the tribunal process is termed a “formal case.” Catholics should consult with their pastor if a declaration of nullity is needed.