Marriage being Valid vs Marriage being Sacramental

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TheHolyTrinity9

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Hello people! Hope your new year is going well!

As I have been viewing the forum, I have been seeing the terms of Marriage being Valid for some people but also Marriage being Sacramental. I’m wondering what is the difference and how does this difference come about? Does the Sacramental Marriage depend on the religion of one of the Spouses if they are not Catholic or how does this come about? Would be a big help to understand!
 
TheHolyTrinity9 said:
Hello people! Hope your new year is going well!

As I have been viewing the forum, I have been seeing the terms of Marriage being Valid for some people but also Marriage being Sacramental. I’m wondering what is the difference and how does this difference come about? Does the Sacramental Marriage depend on the religion of one of the Spouses if they are not Catholic or how does this come about? Would be a big help to understand!
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Think of it like layers, like a cake. There is a valid layer and a sacrament layer.

One marriage can be valid but not a sacrament. That is like having a cake that is one layer, just the valid layer.

Another marriage can be valid and also a sacrament. That is like having a cake that is two layers, the valid layer and the sacrament layer.

The first one is when there is a man and a woman, who are free to marry, and one or both of them is not baptized.

The second one is when there is a man and a woman, who are free to marry, and both are baptized. In this instance, as long as they are both baptized using water and the Trinitarian formula, it is a sacrament as well as valid (two layers).

When one or both are Catholic, there is a canonical requirement for them to be married in the Church. If that does not happen, then the marriage is not valid nor is it a sacrament. I’m speaking here about what the Church teaches and sees. What happens in the civil realm is a different matter.
 
A marriage is sacramental when the marriage is valid and both parties are baptized.
A marriage is NOT sacramental when one of the individuals is NOT baptized. The marriage is invalid if it was performed by justice of the peace. Of course the marriage
becomes valid but NOT sacramental if the priest/deacon later blesses the marriage.
 
Herculees said:
The marriage is invalid if it was performed by justice of the peace. Of course the marriage
becomes valid but NOT sacramental if the priest/deacon later blesses the marriage.
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This part only applies if one or both is Catholic. Non-Catholic marriages are presumed valid unless there is an established impediment (e.g., prior marriage) regardless of officiant.
 
Herculees said:
A marriage is sacramental when the marriage is valid and both parties are baptized.
A marriage is NOT sacramental when one of the individuals is NOT baptized. The marriage is invalid if it was performed by justice of the peace. Of course the marriage
becomes valid but NOT sacramental if the priest/deacon later blesses the marriage.
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That is not correct. A civil marriage between two unbaptised is valid.
 
Herculees said:
A marriage is sacramental when the marriage is valid and both parties are baptized.
A marriage is NOT sacramental when one of the individuals is NOT baptized. The marriage is invalid if it was performed by justice of the peace. Of course the marriage
becomes valid but NOT sacramental if the priest/deacon later blesses the marriage.
Click to expand...
This is not completely correct. Non-Catholics can be validly married by a justice of the peace. Also, if a marriage between two Catholics that was initially contracted invalidly is later convalidated (i.e. blessed by the priest), it becomes both valid and sacramental (provided both parties are baptized, of course).

The bottom line is, whether or not a particular marriage is a sacrament depends on whether or not both parties are baptized. Baptism is the gateway to the other sacraments. A person cannot validly receive any other sacrament without first being baptized. That’s why a marriage where one or both parties is unbaptized cannot be sacramental, even though it could be valid.

Further, a valid marriage between two baptized people is automatically sacramental. It is not possible for two baptized people to be validly married and not also be sacramentally married. It’s an ontological impossibility.
 
Baptism.

If the two persons are baptized - it a Sacrament (presuming of course there are no impediments and if Catholic they are married with the proper form or with a dispensation from from).

Otherwise a natural marriage (if it is valid).
 
Discussions about tribunals and annulments sometimes speak as though the tribunal is making a judgment as to the sacramentality of a marriage. But the tribunal’s only concern is with validity.

A valid marriage is sacramental if both parties are baptized. But a marriage need not be sacramental to be valid.
 
I actually like ComingHome1966’s layer cake analogy.

But I would state it like this:

To be a cake at all (a valid cake) you have to have at least a first layer. You can frost a box and make it look like a cake but it is not really a valid cake. And if you put a real cake layer over a frosted box you do not have a two layer cake.

***Without a first layer, there cannot be a second layer.

***(And here’s where the analogy breaks down. A layer of cake over a frosted box is still a valid cake. An apparently sacramental marriage is neither valid nor sacramental without that first layer of validity.)

To be a marriage at all you need a valid marriage. To take that marriage to the next level (the sacramental layer) you have to have validity as that first layer.

For two validly baptized people there is no such thing as a one layer marriage. It’s either two layers or none.

Neither second cake layers nor sacramental marriages can exist without the underlying level of validity.
 
tee_eff_em said:
As is a civil marriage between two baptized non-Catholics.
(All other things being equal)

tee
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Such a marriage would also be sacramental. (Assuming that this marriage also met the requirements for validity.)
 
So can a marriage be Sacramental if a Catholic and Non-Catholic get married in a Catholic Church with the Bishops approval?
 
TheHolyTrinity9 said:
So can a marriage be Sacramental if a Catholic and Non-Catholic get married in a Catholic Church with the Bishops approval?
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A valid marriage between any two baptized people is a sacrament. If the non Catholic is a baptized person, then yes.
 
thistle said:
That is not correct. A civil marriage between two unbaptised is valid.
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I did NOT say anything about marriages of two unbaptized adults. I was simply explaining what a sacramental marriage and valid marriage are. Since this is a Catholic site I was giving an answer with an assumption that at least one person is Catholic.
 
Herculees said:
I did NOT say anything about marriages of two unbaptized adults. I was simply explaining what a sacramental marriage and valid marriage are. Since this is a Catholic site I was giving an answer with an assumption that at least one person is Catholic.
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Assumptions should not be made then. This site is open to all (not just Catholics) and we have many enjoyable discussions with non-Catholics here.
 
SMHW said:
I actually like ComingHome1966’s layer cake analogy.

But I would state it like this:

To be a cake at all (a valid cake) you have to have at least a first layer. You can frost a box and make it look like a cake but it is not really a valid cake. And if you put a real cake layer over a frosted box you do not have a two layer cake.

***Without a first layer, there cannot be a second layer.

***(And here’s where the analogy breaks down. A layer of cake over a frosted box is still a valid cake. An apparently sacramental marriage is neither valid nor sacramental without that first layer of validity.)

To be a marriage at all you need a valid marriage. To take that marriage to the next level (the sacramental layer) you have to have validity as that first layer.

For two validly baptized people there is no such thing as a one layer marriage. It’s either two layers or none.

Neither second cake layers nor sacramental marriages can exist without the underlying level of validity.
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I will take a stab at refining the analogy. God gave man the recipe for cake. For thousands of years, one man and one woman came together in cultures around the world to bake this cake. Non-Christians continue to bake this same cake following the original basic recipe. These are valid, natural marriages.
When Christ came, He introduced icing. Christian couples now add a layer of icing to the cake - this is the graces of a sacramental marriage. Two baptized people who enter into a valid marriage enter into a sacramental marriage…the fact that both are baptized means they get their cake and the icing.
A Catholic can validly bake a cake without icing, that is enter into a natural but non-sacramental marriage with a non-Christian partner, but only with permission from the Church.
 
TheHolyTrinity9 said:
So can a marriage be Sacramental if a Catholic and Non-Catholic get married in a Catholic Church with the Bishops approval?
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If the non-Catholic is baptized, then the marriage will be a sacrament and valid (two layers). If the non-Catholic is not baptized, then it won’t be a sacrament but it will still be valid (one layer). In both cases, permission is needed from the diocese/Bishop but for different reasons.
 
twf said:
I will take a stab at refining the analogy. God gave man the recipe for cake. For thousands of years, one man and one woman came together in cultures around the world to bake this cake. Non-Christians continue to bake this same cake following the original basic recipe. These are valid, natural marriages.
When Christ came, He introduced icing. Christian couples now add a layer of icing to the cake - this is the graces of a sacramental marriage. Two baptized people who enter into a valid marriage enter into a sacramental marriage…the fact that both are baptized means they get their cake and the icing.
A Catholic can validly bake a cake without icing, that is enter into a natural but non-sacramental marriage with a non-Christian partner, but only with permission from the Church.
Click to expand...
I like that! 👍
 
The sacraments make Christ present in our midst. Like the other sacraments, marriage is not just for the good of individuals, or the couple, but for the community as a whole. The Catholic Church teaches that marriage between two baptized persons is a sacrament. The Old Testament prophets saw the marriage of a man and woman as a symbol of the covenant relationship between God and his people. The permanent and exclusive union between husband and wife mirrors the mutual commitment between God and his people. The Letter to the Ephesians says that this union is a symbol of the relationship between Christ and the Church.

Marriages between Catholics and non-Christians, while they may still be valid in the eyes of the Church, are non-sacramental. With permission, a priest or deacon may witness such marriages.

Just as individual states have certain requirements for civil marriage (e.g., a marriage license, blood tests), the Catholic Church also has requirements before Catholics can be considered validly married in the eyes of the Church. A valid Catholic marriage results from four elements: (1) the spouses are free to marry; (2) they freely exchange their consent; (3) in consenting to marry, they have the intention to marry for life, to be faithful to one another and be open to children; and (4) their consent is given in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorized Church minister. Exceptions to the last requirement must be approved by church authority.

In addition to meeting the criteria for a valid Catholic marriage, the Catholic must seek permission from the local bishop to marry a non-Catholic. If the person is a non-Catholic Christian, this permission is called a “permission to enter into a mixed marriage.” If the person is a non-Christian, the permission is called a “dispensation from disparity of cult.”

For Catholics, marriage is not just a social or family event, but a church event. For this reason, the Church prefers that marriages between Catholics, or between Catholics and other Christians, be celebrated in the parish church of one of the spouses. Only the local bishop can permit a marriage to be celebrated in another suitable place.

The local bishop can permit a wedding in another church, or in another suitable place, for a sufficient reason. For example, a Catholic seeks to marry a Baptist whose father is the pastor of the local Baptist church. The father wants to officiate at the wedding. In these circumstances, the bishop could permit the couple to marry in the Baptist church. The permission in these instances is called a “dispensation from canonical form.”
 
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