Is our Marrige o.k. in the eyes of the Church and God?

[SACREDHEART]

My wife and I have been married now for 13 years. We both grew up not really having gone to Church and neither had been baptized. So as we started our family we felt it important to have religion and Church in our family. We enrolled our oldest duaghter in at Sacred Heart Catholic School and my wife and I attended RCIA last year and we were Baptized and Comfirmed at our Parish this past Easter. It has been a great experince, but my question is about our marrige, is it recognized by the Church? We were married by a freind of mine who is a Minister in a small wedding with family and friends. Does the marrige need to be Blessed or do we need to have the service done again by our Preist? Thank you.

 

[Karin]

YOu should of had your marriage convalidated(blessed) before completing RCIA…did this not occur?

 

[SACREDHEART]

No, we were asked what religion we were and since neither of us had one they asked who married us. I am meeting with our Preist about our childrens Baptisam and will ask him about all of this then. I kinda remeber there being talk since neither of us were Baptised before the wedding that when we were at Easter it Sanctified the marrige but I may be wrong, I am definatley just learning and soaking in as much as I can.

 

[urbana]

I believe Karin may have missed a critical detail, hence giving the wrong answer.

We both grew up not really having gone to Church and neither had been baptized. Does the marrige need to be Blessed or do we need to have the service done again by our Preist?

At the time you two were married, neither of you was Catholic. No matter whether the church you didn’t really attend was Catholic, your lack of baptism means that canonically, you were not Catholic. Catholic canon law recognizes marriages between non-Catholics, whether married before a minister or a judge, assuming no impediment (man and woman, first marriage for each).

Because you were not baptized, at the time, your marriage was a valid natural (not sacramental) marriage. (There is nothing wrong or sinful regarding valid natural marriages, you just miss out on some of the graces of the sacrament.) As soon as both of you were baptized, your marriage automatically became a sacramental marriage, exactly the same as if you had been married by a priest.

Welcome to the Church.

 

[SACREDHEART]

I believe Karin may have missed a critical detail, hence giving the wrong answer.

At the time you two were married, neither of you was Catholic. No matter whether the church you didn’t really attend was Catholic, your lack of baptism means that canonically, you were not Catholic. Catholic canon law recognizes marriages between non-Catholics, whether married before a minister or a judge, assuming no impediment (man and woman, first marriage for each).

Because you were not baptized, at the time, your marriage was a valid natural (not sacramental) marriage. (There is nothing wrong or sinful regarding valid natural marriages, you just miss out on some of the graces of the sacrament.) As soon as both of you were baptized, your marriage automatically became a sacramental marriage, exactly the same as if you had been married by a priest.

Welcome to the Church.

urbana, yes you are correct at the time we were married we were neither Catholic or Baptized. Your answer is what I thought remebering what I was told then but there was so much going on I could not truley remeber. While in the process of preparing to have my children Baptized I just wanted to make sure I was o.k. Just wanted everyone here to know becuse of reading these boards and much prayer I was given enough courage and strength to go to my first Confession, what a wonderful Sacrament that is, a true Grace from God. I was so nervous but halfway through I was felt reassured and more at peace.

 

[puzzleannie]

you were validly married (assuming neither of you had been previously married and divorced) and your marriage became sacramental as soon as you were baptized. This is assuming all the facts are as stated. The priest interviewing you or supervising the RCIA process is responsible for ascertaining all the relevant information about your marriage, and it sounds like you were open and honest, so he would not have allowed you to proceed had their been any problems. Please make an appointment to talk with him further if you have questions, and by all means take steps to learn more about the Catholic teaching on marriage and family, perhaps through family life programs offered by your diocese.

 

[SACREDHEART]

Sorry I left that little detail out, neither have been divorced, this was both our first Marriage. Thanks for all of the replies.

 

[tee_eff_em]

NB: I AM NOT A CANON LAWYER

Catholic canon law recognizes marriages between non-Catholics, whether married before a minister or a judge, assuming no impediment (man and woman, first marriage for each).

you were validly married (assuming neither of you had been previously married and divorced) and your marriage became sacramental as soon as you were baptized.

I’m not even sure a prior bond would be an impediment in such a case? Canon Law does recognize the case of an unbaptized party with simultaneous numerous unbaptized spouses (Can. 1148). Would “serial marriages” of an unbaptized person be any different from a legal viewpoint?

And to SACREDHEART: I suspect all is well, but your best course is to ask a priest to whom you can reveal all the facts and who may probe you for more pertinent information. :twocents:

tee

 

[cameron_lansing]

I’m not even sure a prior bond would be an impediment in such a case?

Tee,

Ligamen (canon 1085 §2) is an impediment of divine law arising from a prior valid marriage not ended in death, or dissolved by means of a privilege of the faith, or by means of a dispensation from a non consummated marriage. As an impediment of divine law, it applies to all people regardless of baptismal or ecclesial status.

Would “serial marriages” of an unbaptized person be any different from a legal viewpoint?

To avoid inviting confusion, I’d rather not post publicly on that but am willing to pm an opinion if you wish. The answer is yes and no.

 

[Doggy]

Doesn’t matter,if you’re maried then married…God wishes you to be happy no matter what religion you are,if you are happy with each other then I don’t see how this “invalidates” marriage just because both of you were married without a blessing from a priest…