He simply does not believe in the Papacy, Marian doctrines, or things that are not sola scriptura or sola fide.
Oi. This may be harder than you think. If you were a cradle Catholic and married outside the Church without obtaining a waiver, and** if you were received in your Protestant denomination as a member of that body,** then you have legally repudiated your faith, and having your marriage blessed will not do the trick. You will have to get married from scratch. Be sure you have this right – don’t take it from me.
My husband and I haven’t had our marriage blessed by the Church, either. I’d go to a different priest, if I were you. You weren’t Catholic when you were married and had your children, so you can’t be expected to obey rules that you knew nothing about. And your children aren’t illegitimate. I think what that priest told you is horrible. Your children are legitimate and your marriage is valid.
I have a book that might be very helpful for you. It is called
She WAS Catholic. If you’re baptized Catholic, you’re Catholic. Period. Scout, you are usually 100% correct but in this case you are way off base. She NEEDS to get this right.
Oh my, I am sooooo sorry.
I missed that part. Where is my head today? Yes, if you were already baptized Catholic then your priest is right and you need to correct the situation.
Unless you think your reversion would utterly destroy your marriage, I think you should come home as soon as possible. As God’s children we have a responsibility to follow the truth, wherever it leads us.
He will definitely have my prayers. It sounds like he has the standard misconceptions about mindless Catholics blindly following Rome.
If you never formally joined another faith, then you would have needed either a priest or a “dispensation of form” from the Bishop. However, simply because you did not have one of these does not automatically render your marriage invalid. It simply makes it illicit in the eyes of the Church. It has no bearing on your children’s legitimacy (which is a legal matter and you are civilly married). As far as having your marriage convalidated, this can be done in a simple ceremony, and need not require a vast amount of work on your part or your husband’s.
Follow the Lord. Your husband will eventually come around … I did.
Right. Your marriage is not valid (not merely illicit, if I understand correctly) but it has nothing to do with whether you joined that denomination at the time. You are a baptized Catholic, who married without the waiver required by the Church.
What you knew or didn’t know doesn’t alter the fact that you “did it.”
Again, before/after has nothing to do with it.
Yup.
But a fixable mess.
First figure out with your priest what needs to be done. In our case, it took about a week – once my husband decided he would go through with the ceremony (following a lot of huffing and puffing: "Nobody can tell me this marriage isn’t a marriage; when I said ‘I do’, I meant it and I DID it . . . . ") All it took was getting two witnesses and showing up at Church one evening.
You get it. Your priest is not likely to encourage your using the language I came up with: “So, Father, you’re telling me that for 20 years we have been living in open fornication?”
It shouldnl’t take long. This isn’t a matter for the Tribunal.I wouldn’t worry about that. He’s omnipotent, you know.
But when you’ve set things straight, it feels SOOOO GOOD!
Things wouldn’t automatically be “a-ok” if you’d joined before. A priest would have to look at the situation either way.
You removed yourself from communion with the Church, yes, but this is easier to solve than a formal excommunication (which must be lifted by a bishop). As you were already confirmed in the Catholic Church, it may be possible to simply make a profession of faith and receive Reconciliation, but you’ll have to speak with a priest.
First off, if you didn’t know what you were doing was a grave sin, then it wasn’t mortal. Secondly, even if it were mortal, you’re doing everything you can to reconcile yourself to God, so if your contrition if perfect (only God knows this but we can hope), you are already forgiven. And third, in danger of death any Christian can be given the sacrament of Reconciliation so long as they believe in it and understand it.
God provides 2 kinds of grace: Actual and Sanctifying. Mortal sin destroys the Sanctifying grace present in our souls. However, God will still send Actual grace to call us back to Him.
First, congratulations on making that journey home. You will be facing a lot of resistance from people who don’t understand your change of heart. When your husband expresses his dislike of your decision, be a true lady and women of God and don’t argue, but win your husband over by your gentle love for him and God. Respond with logic that you know about the church. Learn your bible and give him verses that explain Catholic teaching. PRAY!! The Blessed Mother is an awesome ally in softening hearts to love her son and his church. Pray to her for intercession. Attend Mass, even if you have to go alone. Your dedication will turn your husband’s head, even if he doesn’t show it outwardly. Don’t be afraid. You are making the right decision! Good luck and God bless you!