Does this marriage need to be convalidated?

[OraLabora]

Headaches? Not to be facetious, But we are not talking months and months. And any more discussion of that is TMI. Do your best that you can.

Well when we had our marriage convalidated it was months and months. Getting my records (I was baptized and confirmed Catholic) was a piece of cake. I contacted the parish I was baptized in (in 1958!) and within two days I had my updated baptismal certificate.

My wife’s Anglican documentation was another matter though and that took a couple of months (and she was baptized 40 years after I was!!!). Then there was my wife feeling “ready”. Then there was choosing a date that fit the schedules of the family members we wanted present (our sons… and ourselves). And it took years for us to get some rough times behind us and both feel ready for this step.

I understand the doctrinal requirement of living as brother and sister in the time up to convalidation. Pastorally though, I think one needs to be realistic… not all of us are ready for sainthood just yet.

 

[otjm]

Well when we had our marriage convalidated it was months and months. Getting my records (I was baptized and confirmed Catholic) was a piece of cake. I contacted the parish I was baptized in (in 1958!) and within two days I had my updated baptismal certificate.

My wife’s Anglican documentation was another matter though and that took a couple of months (and she was baptized 40 years after I was!!!). Then there was my wife feeling “ready”. Then there was choosing a date that fit the schedules of the family members we wanted present (our sons… and ourselves). And it took years for us to get some rough times behind us and both feel ready for this step.

I understand the doctrinal requirement of living as brother and sister in the time up to convalidation. Pastorally though, I think one needs to be realistic… not all of us are ready for sainthood just yet.

Well, since you have to be dead to achieve sainthood, and it is a (long) process, one may not be ready but one can certainly work at it. And I have yet to read of a saint who was perfect - they all had their issues.

And pastorally, when we fall, the Church is there to pick us up. What is called for is not perfection, but a real attempt to live the Gospels. When we fail to achieve that objective, we need to turn around, and try again. I think the Greek term is metanoia.