K
kage_ar
Guest
You cannot serve two masters, by not choosing, she remains lukewarm.
- Status
G
grandfather
Guest
She is committed to a god of her personal creation, made in the image of her making. She is a Protestant whether or not she has accepted that fact. She may have some sentiments of nostalgia for things Catholic and does not want to severe the connection emotionally, but it is already severed in reality. It is severed entirely other than in her emotions.
Recent popes have all written and taught that people in her circumstances are not to receive Communion. They are not welcome. The Catholic Church believes and teaches this is an act of sacrelige, a grievous sin. She is unconcerned about any Church belief or instruction she disagrees with personally, Catholic, Lutheran, or other. She makes her own rules for herself.
She is not welcome or invited. She is crashing the party, knowingly and obstinately disregarding all Catholic authority and tradition that forbids her from receiving Communion, because she has a sentimental attachment to something she has wilfully separated herself from and her personal believe that she can make up her own rules for herself, not follow anyone else’s, or those of any institutional authority. She is a rebel, having rebelled against the Church she was raised in. She does not accept the moral teaching of the Church, but makes up her own.
Mercy is greater than our sins, but there are spiritual consequences to our actions.
L
Lutheranteach
Guest
IF I could only find a priest with the fortitude to tell her these things she would be Lutheran by sunset. Instead they all look at their desks and study their shoes and talk about informed decisions, and room enough for varying points of view, etc. etc.
1
1ke
Guest
What she, and you, fail to see is that Christ and his Bride, the Church, are one. You cannot reject one without rejecting the other.
1
1ke
Guest
You do not recall correctly.
You are correct regarding the Rite which a child would follow in the case of a Latin Catholic married to a Catholic of one of the other Rites. However, there are ways in which the family can transfer Rites.
As for a Catholic married to an Orthodox, the Catholic is obligated to baptize and raise their children in the Catholic Church. The Church does NOT teach that a child should be baptized Orthodox if the father is Orthodox.
Under the 1983 Code of Canon Law, it is the Catholic only who makes the promise. The non-Catholic is informed of the promise and acknolwedges that they truly understand the committment the Catholic has agreed to. In essence, the non-Catholic is agreeing to not interfere, but not making the promise to actively raise the child in the Catholic faith.
An understatement, and the most charitable interpretation possible regarding her actions. Let us certainly hope it is confusion, as that brings with it some possibility of ignorance to a degree that may lessen her culpability.
1
1ke
Guest
I would suggest this is not quite accurate. She is certainly welcome and invited at all times by Christ’s own invitation to come home. Christ wants all to be saved. His merciful hand is extended until our last breath is drawn. She can repent and be reconciled through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
You are correct she should refrain from the Eucharist. Your phrasing, however, made it sound as if she were unwelcome in the Church, which is not the case. She is Catholic by virtue of her baptism, and can never be otherwise. The Good Shepherd calls his lost sheep, and she is no different. Christ wants her in the bosom of his Bride the Church. He will never give up searching for the one lost sheep.
This is certainly true.
S
SarahR
Guest
That’s great! Congratulations!
S
SarahR
Guest
Of course. What does this have to do with whether a baptized Lutheran can receive First Holy Communion without any intent of the parents to raise the child Catholic? The child is not becoming Catholic. If he was then it would be a different matter.
K
kage_ar
Guest
The validly baptized child would need to enter the Church through an RCIA modified for children, make a profession of Faith, be Confirmed and recieve FHC (likely at the Easter Vigil).
K
kage_ar
Guest
She will be Catholic by virtue of her baptism for all eternity.
G
grandfather
Guest
Your wife would not be Lutheran. She is not Lutheran or Catholic. She does not believe in the doctrines of either religion. She might attend the local Lutheran church with you and stop going to the local parish and receiving Communion, and that might please you, but she has made up her own religion. She probably would fit best in a Universalist assembly.
S
Skenned
Guest
Dear Lutheranteach-
I don’t usually respond but the spirit moved me.
Your wife wants to follow Catholicism but her husband is Lutheran. She loves you and yet she is drawn to follow her faith. She is in conflict, and so will be your son.
Here’s a possible solution: the doctrinal differences between Catholic and Lutheran are significant yet not insurmountable. All things are possible for God. Therefore, why don’t you look into the Catholic faith? If you look further, you might like what you see. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. You might see the truth of it. I do believe the Roman Church is the faith established by Jesus and has the complete truth. And then, if you were able to commit, your family would be one. You could worship God the Father and Jesus together with your family. You would alleviate your wife’s conflict, and your son would not be getting conflicting signals.
What a blessing it is for me to worship God with my family. I wish that for you. Consider it.
I don’t usually respond but the spirit moved me.
Your wife wants to follow Catholicism but her husband is Lutheran. She loves you and yet she is drawn to follow her faith. She is in conflict, and so will be your son.
Here’s a possible solution: the doctrinal differences between Catholic and Lutheran are significant yet not insurmountable. All things are possible for God. Therefore, why don’t you look into the Catholic faith? If you look further, you might like what you see. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. You might see the truth of it. I do believe the Roman Church is the faith established by Jesus and has the complete truth. And then, if you were able to commit, your family would be one. You could worship God the Father and Jesus together with your family. You would alleviate your wife’s conflict, and your son would not be getting conflicting signals.
What a blessing it is for me to worship God with my family. I wish that for you. Consider it.
L
Lutheranteach
Guest
I have looked very deeply and for a very extended period of time at that very option. No.
L
Lutheranteach
Guest
That is something else she outright rejects. She is (as she says) what she chooses to be…or not be.
E
eucharisteo
Guest
Why not ask your wife to sponsor you through RCIA, not to convert but to “look into it”. If you have a good program you’ll learn things to help you understand what the Catholic Church teaches, without the garbage of messed up dissenters…hopefully. The point is that your wife might actually learn the Catholic faith. After the program she can grow deeper in understanding her faith or whatever. Might I suggest an extreme measure. Have her write a letter to her bishop to excuse her from being Catholic on the grounds she does not accept the Catholic teachings and that she no longer wants to be considered part of the “Catholic Church”. This way she can join your church and be excused. The bishop can accept or reject, but at least she submitted it. But it would be best for her to attend RCIA with you so that both of you can at least give an appearance of digging into the teachings of the Church. My wife and I did it like a date. It was fun for us.
I grew up in a mixed religious home. It is not fun at all. I’ve felt tortured most of my life. Your children are most likely going to be Lutheran. The things you are saying don’t mesh at all. She rejects the teaching of the Church, yet wants to have your son go through first holy communion? Doesn’t make sense. Church is not a social club. This looks like emotional insecurity. Something bad must have happened to her growing up or she needs professional help. But then I believe most of us to need professional help. … Except me of course.
K
KindredSoul
Guest
**Maybe…**but you might possibly underestimate your wife’s attachment to Catholicism. When faced with such an ultimatum (aside from the unwelcome and uninvited bit, because anybody is welcome, and anybody is invited to confess and repent of what Catholics know to be sin so that they may receive communion or the prior sacraments necessary for communion), she may indeed abandon the Faith despite her attachment. Or she may buckle down and do what a Catholic should: Be faithful to God by being faithful to the Church that Catholics believe He founded to confirm us in the Truth (of course you as a Protestant disagree; the point is, she calls herself Catholic and part of that, if she is ever faced with the truth of the matter, is believing God founded the Catholic Church as surely as both Catholics and Protestants believe He inspired the Bible).
Saying that about a Catholic (even one who is only vaguely Catholic) is like saying of a Sola Scriptura Protestant “committed to God but not to the Scriptures.” In order to be committed to God, we have to be able to know what He expects of us, how He expects us to exercise that commitment. Just as for Protestants ignoring the scriptures would be ignoring the teachings of God (and thereby not being committed to Him) so for Catholics ignoring the Scriptures and/or the Church would be the same lack of commitment. In order to know how your statement sounds to a Catholic, imagine if a “spiritual but not religious” type told you his professedly Protestant wife, who ignored much of the New Testament values, worship, and morality, was “100% committed to God, but not 100% committed to the Christian Bible.” Yeah, by his standard, maybe that’s all good and well, but not by yours and not even by the standard his wife herself claims, whether she admits it or not, when she calls herself Protestant (or Christian at all, as we all believe in the Bible).
Picking and choosing what parts of your religion to believe in, whether Protestant or Catholic, expresses not commitment to God but commitment to what we think God should be.
Blessings in Christ,
KindredSoul
S
Skenned
Guest
Ok-worth a try. Bless you and your family. May God’s mercy prevail.
- Status