Advice for my parents

[angell1]

my dad was raised catholic but strayed from the faith. my mom was not catholic at all and sitll isn’t but believes in God now. she wants to be baptized but can’t because she had a prior marriage before my dad. i know she could try to get an annulment but she’s uncomfortable with the idea of telling people about her past so she just won’t do it now. i’ve tried to mention it casually but i don’t want to push it or else i know it’ll make her angry and she’ll refuse even more. thing is, now of course my dad is considered living in sin as well and he won’t listen to me about not taking communion. he is a bit more serious about the faith now but not to the point where serious change is being considered. any advice on what i should do? i’ve been praying a lot about it and would like to request your prayers as well. i feel like i’m at a point that i have to just leave it and let God do what he needs to do and they’ll come around eventually.

 

[Allegra]

Your mother’s previous marriage might not be an impediment to her being Baptized. I would recommend that she speak to the pastor.

 

[judynurse]

If your mother went to a priest and through the annulment process – which she might not need to do – depends on circumstances, only the Annulment Tribunal and her Parish Priest would even be aware of it! It would not become commonly known in the local parish, and especially not In the town. If it’s a really small town, any correspondence could be sent to the Priest for her to answer in his office or take home, answer, and return through him in a regular envelope with the Parish Church return address for confidentiality. Most people aren’t even aware of those in their Parish who have received annulments. Likewise, their marriage could then be Blessed in a private ceremony. Her Baptism, Confirmation, etc… would be known to the rest of the Parish, but as a convert, nothing more. As for your Dad receiving the Holy Eucharist while in a marriage which is not blessed – I’d leave that to your Dad and the Priest. You are not in a position to be correcting him, once you have (apparently) already told him it is wrong. Keep praying, especially for your Mother to get her current marriage regularized and blessed and to be Baptized in the Church!

Will say a prayer for you and your parents tonight. God bless you. Stay with your faith and keep praying.

 

[angell1]

If your mother went to a priest and through the annulment process – which she might not need to do – depends on circumstances, only the Annulment Tribunal and her Parish Priest would even be aware of it! It would not become commonly known in the local parish, and especially not In the town. If it’s a really small town, any correspondence could be sent to the Priest for her to answer in his office or take home, answer, and return through him in a regular envelope with the Parish Church return address for confidentiality. Most people aren’t even aware of those in their Parish who have received annulments. Likewise, their marriage could then be Blessed in a private ceremony. Her Baptism, Confirmation, etc… would be known to the rest of the Parish, but as a convert, nothing more. As for your Dad receiving the Holy Eucharist while in a marriage which is not blessed – I’d leave that to your Dad and the Priest. You are not in a position to be correcting him, once you have (apparently) already told him it is wrong. Keep praying, especially for your Mother to get her current marriage regularized and blessed and to be Baptized in the Church!

Will say a prayer for you and your parents tonight. God bless you. Stay with your faith and keep praying.

she doesn’t even want the tribunal to know. she did try to talk ti a priest many years ago but didn’t want to be refered to anyone else. we’ve since moved and are at a new parish now but all these years, she hasn’t been able to get over her fears and talk to our pastor. guess i will just keep praying

 

[stephe1987]

She needs to let go of her pride (not wanting others to know about her past) so she can get the annulment and move on. I will pray for your parents.

 

[GenosFutureWife]

During my annulment (in America), I wasn’t referred to anyone… I just wrote up the paperwork that the priest gave me, and then turned it in.
When I was answering the questions I didn’t think of it as telling someone else my story, but as an inner journey, healing me of past grief, which enabled me to go forward more positively.
It’s possible that all she needs is to have a ‘lack of form’ document , which takes like 5 minutes. It all depends on the faith of her first husband, and whether they were married in a church, and which denomination…
I would guess that the baptism would be separate from her marital situation.

She owes it to herself to at least find out. Maybe they could have the priest over for dinner. Or, you could have your parents and the priest for dinner at your place.