"Catholic" Boss Marrying at Botanical Gardens

[allhers]

I did, Father. That’s not proof. That’s hearsay, all quoted from the remarks of one woman’s website (which, BTW, contains at least 50% of the text as pleas for money). That author also doesn’t say one thing against Reiki or other energy healing modalities. She talks about individuals who have gone against the Church. That’s up to the individual. It isn’t part of Reiki or any other such healing technique.

1. Lets get one thing clear here, I am not a Priest, I am a woman, and even if I were a Priest, which I believe NO woman can be—but, if I were a man and I were a Priest, why do YOU show such distain when you say what you said? (learning that from your great Reiki are you?)​

Now, perhaps you missed this, in that site that I gave you—the one where you say nothing was said about it:
Another order has promoted labyrinth walks, Reiki, and other New Age practices. There, I underlined it for you so you wouldn’t miss it. I also provided you with a site from the Vatican and a 7 page document written from a Catholic web site against Reiki and other New Aged pratices. Now, you have been warned and provided with the correct material, which you obviously didn’t seek out before you started your “wonderful Reiki”, why not??
Since you didn’t seek out information on it then, I doubt that you will care about the information provided now, but still, I gave it to you.
If you have no respect for Priests, I suggest you drop the Reiki-and QUICK!!!

 

[Cristiano]

I have a dilemma and I just want some extra support and advice.

My boss is a self-proclaimed Catholic who practices Reiki and is skeptical of the Church and her hierarchy. She is not an extremist and is actually a very pleasant lady. My understanding of her is that she is severely confused. She has not been educated to believe what she believes; she just kinda *feels *that way.

My boss recently got engaged to an atheist who happens to be very spiritual. (I really don’t understand it myself so don’t ask.) She wants to be married with the blessing of the Church, eventually, but she doesn’t want to get married in the Church because it might make her future husband feel uncomfortable. Their plan is to get married at the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis and then go back later and ask to get it blessed.

She talks openly about this, so making conversation about it would not be difficult. Also, I’m not one to be overly shy and I am more than willing to go outside my comfort level to share with her some information.

Question: Is there anything short and sweet I could tell her that could help her question her decision to get married at the Botanical Gardens? I remind you that she’s skeptical of the Church so it might be best to stay away from arguments dependent on the Catechism or the sayings of popes. What I need is just a brief explanation for why it is necessary to get married in the Church to have a “Sacramental Wedding”?

Thanks!

My suggestion is to stay out of it. Do not discuss these things with her. She is your boss and you could find yourself in a bad position. She needs more basic help than the theological explanation of one sacrament. My suggestion is to gift her with a book that would give her the opportunity to get back into the Church. In the card you could mention that you are happy to see that she still wants to be close to the Church and to do what is right. You cannot teach calculus if the person does not know elementary math. If she really asks you for suggestions, then you should refer her to a priest.

 

[jln]

1. Lets get one thing clear here, I am not a Priest, I am a woman,​

Oh, my goodness! Please accept my sincere apologies. Your signature line ends with “Fr. John Corapi,” and I mistakenly assumed that the author of the quote was your actual signature.

I did read the references you cite. I read them carefully.

Please don’t accuse me of having no respect for priests. That was uncalled for.I

thank you very much for taking part in this discussion. I’ve enjoyed it.You’ve strengthened my resolve.

 

[allhers]

Oh, my goodness! Please accept my sincere apologies. Your signature line ends with “Fr. John Corapi,” and I mistakenly assumed that the author of the quote was your actual signature.

I did read the references you cite. I read them carefully.

Please don’t accuse me of having no respect for priests. That was uncalled for.I

thank you very much for taking part in this discussion. I’ve enjoyed it.You’ve strengthened my resolve.

Apology accepted, I often include in my signature line quotes from others, you are the first person to ever think I was the person whose quote I was displaying. If everyone else read my quotes as you did, they must have thought in the past that I was Scott Hahn, The Holy Father, The Blessed Mother, St. Bernadette and others, as I have used some of their quotes also.
(I would have thought though, when I posted the one from St. Bernadette that perhaps others who think like you, might have realized it wasn’t me. )
I did think you were disrespecting Priests, whom I have the utmost respect for. (I read your posts as though you were sarcastically asking me who I got my ideas from, --a priest?? )
When you called me Father, the first time you answered my post, I thought you were being sarcastic. So, in my thinking, it was called for, (thinking you were disrespecting them.)
They are the only people who can give us Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. I thank God for them daily. I pray for the one’s from my childhood who Baptized me, heard my first Confession, the one who gave me my first Holy Communion, the Bishop who confirmed me, the one present at our Marriage (and all Priests and Bishops throughout the world, and most especially for our Holy Father. I pray for living and deceased Priests also.
I also pray that all my children, grand-children and future generations will have a Priest available to them when they need one. (I got that from my Grandmother, that was her constant, daily prayer.)
I hope that your resolve is to abandon that Reiki pratice.
I further hope that the OP got the information that they asked for.

 

[quiet52]

I have a dilemma and I just want some extra support and advice.

My boss is a self-proclaimed Catholic who practices Reiki and is skeptical of the Church and her hierarchy. She is not an extremist and is actually a very pleasant lady. My understanding of her is that she is severely confused. She has not been educated to believe what she believes; she just kinda *feels *that way.

My boss recently got engaged to an atheist who happens to be very spiritual. (I really don’t understand it myself so don’t ask.) She wants to be married with the blessing of the Church, eventually, but she doesn’t want to get married in the Church because it might make her future husband feel uncomfortable. Their plan is to get married at the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis and then go back later and ask to get it blessed…
Thanks!

The Church cannot recognize your boss’s marriage to be a valid one.

If she wants it convalidated, she and her husband need to willingly engage in the marriage preparation in her parish.

She needs to appreciate the teachings of the Church and assent to her teachings. She needs catechesis and needs to be a practicing Catholic. Encourage her to talk with a priest – and keep praying for her.

There’s no such thing as blessing an invalid marriage. That’s an oxymoron.

from the marriage norms in my diocese:

Simple Convalidations: A simple convalidation requires a renewal of consent by the parties and renders a marriage valid from the moment consent is renewed. The parties should not be told that it is a mere blessing of a marriage. This would likely result in the convalidation being invalid. The parties in an invalid marriage must be informed that the Church considers their marriage invalid, as the renewal of marital consent requires a new act of the will (canons 1157 and 1160).

 

[Layman]

Your boss and her fiancee should become full members of the Catholic Church and then get married with the proper Rite of Marriage.

A side benefit is that it will strengthen their marriage. If you’re OK with Heaven, then earthly matters become easier to deal with.

A Catholic marriage is a sacred and binding oath taken before God, in the presence of a consecrated priest, in a consecrated church. It’s a serious business.

My Dad once ticked me off for wearing a jazzy tie to a wedding. I changed it. He said “A marriage is a solemn occasion, son”.

I suppose this time of material plenty and psychic turmoil has confused people as to what how they should behave to please Heaven.