Baptism and Divorce confusion

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I am so glad to see someone address this issue: I was married 20 years ago to a non-baptized person in the Catholic Church. The priest did not allow me to have a Mass and I understand now why. I did not know nearly as much about my faith then. I thought at that time that the Catholic Church taught to do as your conscience dictated, with the exception, I knew not to marry a divorced person.

My husband came into the Church six years later and was baptized. I am to assume I had a natural marriage and not a sacramental marriage for six years? Wow!

Do I automatically have a sacramental marriage now that he is baptized?

Yes your Marriage would be a Sacrament at the moment the non-Baptized person received Baptism. You can now go and ask for the Nuptial Blessing, if you didn’t receive it before.

 

[Catholic2003]

pazdziernik:

Consumation makes a sacramental marriage indisoulable. The first part of the Petrine privilege applies to the rare case in which the sacramental marriage was not consumated. I’m not sure how common the second part of the Petrine privilege may be. Nor am I sure what “just causes” would allow for it.

Are you saying that the baptism of the non-baptized party turns a consumated natural marriage into an unconsumated sacramental marriage?

If so, when two unbaptized people marry, does the baptism of the first party also “reset” the consumation of the marriage?

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Catholic2003:

Are you saying that the baptism of the non-baptized party turns a consumated natural marriage into an unconsumated sacramental marriage?

If so, when two unbaptized people marry, does the baptism of the first party also “reset” the consumation of the marriage?

I tend to read it as the marital act ratifies the Natural Marriage. In order for the marriage of two non-Baptized people to be a Sacrament BOTH would need to receive Baptism. As I read it I do not believe that the now Sacramental Marriage needs to be “re-consumated”.

This goes out the window when speaking of an invalid Marriage. Since an invalid Marraige cannot be consumated and the consumation can only take place after a valid Marriage is contracted.

 

[pazdziernik]

Catholic2003:

Are you saying that the baptism of the non-baptized party turns a consumated natural marriage into an unconsumated sacramental marriage?

If so, when two unbaptized people marry, does the baptism of the first party also “reset” the consumation of the marriage?

No. I’m not implying that. The valid natural marriage will become a sacramental marriage when the non-baptized party is baptized. I suspect, but am not sure, that the consummation will be retroactive to the natural marriage. My reasoning is that Jesus elevated natural marriage to a Sacrament (between a baptized and a baptized woman). If this valid natural marriage was consummated then the Sacrament of Matrimony would elevate the union in its totality which includes consummation. Practically speaking, the sacramental union would eventually be consumated in due course, if this was not already the case. This is an interesting scenario in which I would like to find an authoritative statement on the subject.

When a non-baptized man and a non-baptized woman marry they have a natural marriage. If only one, but not the other, receives the Sacrament of Baptism then they still have a natural marriage. Nothing about the state of the marriage changes so the consummation is not “reset” to null.

 

[seaseadisney]

So, since I am now sacramentally married since my husband was baptized three years into the marriage, how do I know if I ever received a nuptial blessing? Oddly, I did not even think about this when I married him. A priest did marry us.