Living in perpetual sin

[Vinnie]

What effect does living in irreconcilable perpetual sin have on ones status in the church?

 

[Birdysboy]

Why do you ask?
Why does anyone want to live in sin?

 

[mercygate]

What effect does living in irreconcilable perpetual sin have on ones status in the church?

What in the world is “irreconcilable perpetual sin?” What’s irreconcilable about it? What sin is there that cannot be repented and forgiven?

 

[John_Henry]

What effect does living in irreconcilable perpetual sin have on ones status in the church?

Not sure what you mean by “irreconcilable”. If you mean it in the sense of “reconciliation with God”, there is no such sin, assuming penitance on the part of the sinner. If one is living in a perpetual state of unrepentant sin, one is still a Catholic, but cannot participate in the fullness of the sacramental life of the Church (i.e., must not receive the Eucharist).

 

[Wendy-Kay]

If you are talking about final impenitence, that is a sin against the Holy Spirit. You die, you could very well go to Hell.
But, if you are talking about continuing mortal sin even though you know it is wrong, or are indifferent to the consequences, you have severed your friendship with God. I can’t think of anything worth that even for a second! But, once the sin ball gets rolling, the justifications get easier because the fog is thicker. If someone presented me with this, I would say forget the hypotheticals and run, don’t walk, to confession!

 

[Vinnie]

I could be wrong, it may not be as bad as I inferred in my initial question. Here is a brief background into the question. My wife has been married before, we were married by a Babtist minister and she is at best agnostic at this point. It is my understanding that this is unacceptable if for no other than her previous marriage was not annulled. She has no desire to go through that process nor does she feel the need to be remarried by priest.

 

[mercygate]

I could be wrong, it may not be as bad as I inferred in my initial question. Here is a brief background into the question. My wife has been married before, we were married by a Babtist minister and she is at best agnostic at this point. It is my understanding that this is unacceptable if for no other than her previous marriage was not annulled. She has no desire to go through that process nor does she feel the need to be remarried by priest.

Talk to your priest. You ain’t the first guy to have this problem. Since you did not get the waiver required of Catholics marrying outside the Church (it would not have been granted to someone with a presumed valid marriage that had not been declared null), you may abstain from your conjugal privileges while pursuing the necessary steps to validate your marriage.

If you choose not to abstain from your conjugal privileges, then abstain from the Sacraments until you are able to re-establish a state of grace in which to receive them.

 

[Wendy-Kay]

Talk to your priest. You ain’t the first guy to have this problem. Since you did not get the waiver required of Catholics marrying outside the Church (it would not have been granted to someone with a presumed valid marriage that had not been declared null), you may abstain from your conjugal privileges while pursuing the necessary steps to validate your marriage.

If you choose not to abstain from your conjugal privileges, then abstain from the Sacraments until you are able to re-establish a state of grace in which to receive them.

Yep! And in addition, if it is important to you, then it should be important to her! I am proud of you for seeking to do the right thing. Be assured of my prayers!

 

[jburgherr]

I could be wrong, it may not be as bad as I inferred in my initial question. Here is a brief background into the question. My wife has been married before, we were married by a Babtist minister and she is at best agnostic at this point. It is my understanding that this is unacceptable if for no other than her previous marriage was not annulled. She has no desire to go through that process nor does she feel the need to be remarried by priest.

Hi Vinnie,

Done that…been there…got the t-shirt…

I grew up Catholic…However…

I married a women before a judge at the court house. Stayed married for 4 years…no children. I was not a practicing Catholic or really anything. I then got divorced.

Later, I married a Baptist woman…in the Baptist Church. The Catholic church then started calling me back again. I begain going to Mass, but knew I could not partake of the Eucharist. I finally obtained an annulment on my first secular marriage. My marriage to my Baptist wife was then considered valid by the Church…needing only to be blessed (not needing a new wedding.).

For 15 years, I went to Mass without being able to take communion. On the Feast of Pentecost, My marriage was blessed, and my wife was received into the Church, and we both now receive the Holy Eucharist.

There is life during and after annulment, I assure you.

As the previous poster stated, talk to your Priest. The sooner, the better. Be sure to continue going to Mass. Even though you cannot recieve the blessed sacrament, you may still process with the rest of the faithful and recieve a blessing from the Priest instead of recieving communion. Crossing your arms across your chest signals to the priest that you are not recieving communion, and he will then give you his blessing.

God be with you!

 

[Vinnie]

I’m glad things are not anywhere near as bleak as I thought. You have made my day.
I do intend to speak to the priest at my local church this week. It will be the first time in about twenty years.

 

[Eileen_T]

God Bless you and keep you Vinnie.

If you are not already doing so, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. One of the best graces that comes from saying it is that it disposes our hearts to trust in God and His Mercy.

 

[puzzleannie]

I could be wrong, it may not be as bad as I inferred in my initial question. Here is a brief background into the question. My wife has been married before, we were married by a Babtist minister and she is at best agnostic at this point. It is my understanding that this is unacceptable if for no other than her previous marriage was not annulled. She has no desire to go through that process nor does she feel the need to be remarried by priest.

there may be a remedy to this situation. you need to speak to your priest about radical sanation (don’t know the Latin for it) basically the Catholic party can have the marriage blessed without the cooperation of the non-Catholic partner. it is more complex because of her previous marriage, but you really need to talk to the priest about this. there is no such thing as an ireconcilable sin unless you choose not to reconcile with God and His Church. do not go into details here, save it for the priest, and follow his advice.

If you are married to a woman who has no concern about your spiritual health, you have much deeper problems to resolve.

 

[MountainMan]

Vinnie - you have already received excellent advice; I would add just one thing: take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently. I believe it is the greatest blessing (after the Eucharist) that is unique to us as Catholics. May God bless you!

Chuck

 

[RayK83153]

Vinnie, I’m with you on that. I too am a recent revert to the CC after about a 30 year lapse. Although I had no other marraiages, I married a protestant woman in her church 29 years ago. We even raised two daughters Lutheran who are now adults and on their own. I’ve considered a return to the CC for about a year before announcing it to my wife one year ago. She took it hard but she new how much it meant to me. I visited the local Catholic pastor and since I had the sacraments up to confirmation, I only had to get our marrage convalidated. So, she agreed to have our marriage blest which we did last Thanksgiving Saturday. I feel so fortunate to be to be back in communion with the CC and the saints. Good luck in your reversion and our prayers are with you!