Marriage ceremony to an unbaptized person

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Donald_Harrison

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My daughter is marrying someone who is not baptized and the priest said there can be no Mass. Why can’t there be a Mass at a marriage to an unbaptized person? They can go to Mass on Sunday or any day of the week. Half of the people in attendance will be Catholic.

Also is this ceremony considered to be the Sacrament of Matrimony for my daughter?
 
My daughter is marrying someone who is not baptized and the priest said there can be no Mass.
That is correct. The Marriage Rite takes place outside the Mass when a Catholic marries an unbaptized person.
Why can’t there be a Mass at a marriage to an unbaptized person? They can go to Mass on Sunday or any day of the week. Half of the people in attendance will be Catholic.
It’s not about the people in attendance. It’s about the couple presenting themselves for marriage. He is not baptized. When two Catholics marry, they do so at the altar and during the Mass. When a Catholic marries an unbaptized person, they are not married at the altar, and not during Mass.
Also is this ceremony considered to be the Sacrament of Matrimony for my daughter?
No. Marriage is a sacrament only between two baptized persons.

Your daughter is marrying an unbaptized person. Therefore, the marriage is not sacramental. A marriage of this type is called a natural marriage.
 
I know there are people who will criticize me for this but there seems to be a double standard here. My first husband had been baptized in a Catholic Church when he was an infant simply because that was the closest church to where his family lived and his parents wanted him to be baptized somewhere. He never again went to a Catholic Church until the day we were married but he was considered a Catholic! I could never understand that. Simply being baptized as an infant made him a Catholic even though he knew absolutely nothing about the Church or teachings. Even after we were married he refused to go to Mass with me.
Your daughter is marrying the man she loves, he has not been baptized, so she is being denied a Sacramental marriage. Has he been baptized in any church? Does he belong to any religion?
 
I know there are people who will criticize me for this but there seems to be a double standard here. My first husband had been baptized in a Catholic Church when he was an infant simply because that was the closest church to where his family lived and his parents wanted him to be baptized somewhere. He never again went to a Catholic Church until the day we were married but he was considered a Catholic! I could never understand that. Simply being baptized as an infant made him a Catholic even though he knew absolutely nothing about the Church or teachings. Even after we were married he refused to go to Mass with me.
Your daughter is marrying the man she loves, he has not been baptized, so she is being denied a Sacramental marriage. Has he been baptized in any church? Does he belong to any religion?
It’s about being baptized here, not about being Catholic. If she were marrying a baptized Anglican or Lutheran she could, if she really wished it, have a Nuptial Mass and the marriage would be sacramental because both of them are baptized.

A non-baptized person can not receive a sacrament and the sacrament can not be received by just one half of the couple. That’s why her marriage will be a natural marriage and not a sacramental marriage.
 
My husband and I had a Mass at our wedding,he was not baptized. I understood that our marriage was not a sacrement until he became baptized, but I didn’t think that meant we couldn’t have a mass. BTW, we did have all the proper dispensations. Are you guys positive that Mass isn’t allowed?
 
I know there are people who will criticize me for this but there seems to be a double standard here. My first husband had been baptized in a Catholic Church when he was an infant simply because that was the closest church to where his family lived and his parents wanted him to be baptized somewhere. He never again went to a Catholic Church until the day we were married but he was considered a Catholic! I could never understand that. Simply being baptized as an infant made him a Catholic even though he knew absolutely nothing about the Church or teachings. Even after we were married he refused to go to Mass with me.
Your daughter is marrying the man she loves, he has not been baptized, so she is being denied a Sacramental marriage. Has he been baptized in any church? Does he belong to any religion?
This is how important that Church believes in Baptism. It is a powerful sacrament that puts an indelible mark on the soul. Baptism signs you up!!!

First of all, the daughter isn’t being “denied” anything. This isn’t just a rule…this is the truth regarding grace that Jesus set up. One has to be Baptized in order to receive the grace…Baptism opens up that channel.

We also don’t even know if the daughter wants it…this is written by a parent.
 
My daughter is marrying someone who is not baptized and the priest said there can be no Mass. Why can’t there be a Mass at a marriage to an unbaptized person? They can go to Mass on Sunday or any day of the week. Half of the people in attendance will be Catholic.

Also is this ceremony considered to be the Sacrament of Matrimony for my daughter?
No, it is not a Sacrament, because the Sacrament requires two Baptized persons free to Marry.
 
It isn’t that the church is denying him the sacrament. In matrimony, the two people confer the sacrament on each other. Someone who isn’t baptized isn’t capable of this. It’s like a person not being able to receive the sacrament of confirmation if they aren’t baptized. The actions could be performed but it just wouldn’t ‘take’. To have the marriage ceremony during mass means that the sacrament of matrimony is being enacted. In the case of a person who isn’t baptized, that would be a lie.
 
I know there are people who will criticize me for this but there seems to be a double standard here. My first husband had been baptized in a Catholic Church when he was an infant simply because that was the closest church to where his family lived and his parents wanted him to be baptized somewhere. He never again went to a Catholic Church until the day we were married but he was considered a Catholic! I could never understand that. Simply being baptized as an infant made him a Catholic even though he knew absolutely nothing about the Church or teachings. Even after we were married he refused to go to Mass with me.
Your daughter is marrying the man she loves, he has not been baptized, so she is being denied a Sacramental marriage. Has he been baptized in any church? Does he belong to any religion?
This is why the Church reqiures that the pastor be assured that the child will be raised in the Catholic faith before Baptizing a child at the request of the parents. It is a serious obligation that his parents failed at.
 
My husband and I had a Mass at our wedding,he was not baptized. I understood that our marriage was not a sacrement until he became baptized, but I didn’t think that meant we couldn’t have a mass. BTW, we did have all the proper dispensations. Are you guys positive that Mass isn’t allowed?
The Rite indicates that the Bishop must give permission for a Mass at a Mixed Marriage.

The Rite for Celebrating Marriage Between a Catholic and an Unbaptized Person doesn’t provide for Mass at all. It even says "If marriage is celebrated between a Catholic and an unbaptized person (either a catechumen or a non-Christian), the rite may be performed in the church or some other suitable place and takes the following form.

But if you had a Mass don’t fret about it, just consider yourself lucky to have been able to receive the Body and Blood of Christ at your wedding.
 
To have the marriage ceremony during mass means that the sacrament of matrimony is being enacted. In the case of a person who isn’t baptized, that would be a lie.
Meaning that having it outside Mass means the sacrament ISN’T enacted?
 
Meaning that having it outside Mass means the sacrament ISN’T enacted?
No. Here is some propositional logic.
  • A = marriage ceremony with Mass
  • not A = marriage ceremony outside of Mass
  • B = sacrament of marriage is being enacted
  • not B = marriage is natural but not sacramental
Claire from DE stated that “A implies B”, which is a true statement. You asked about whether “not A implies not B”, which we all know is a false statement. What is going on is that the first statement does not lead logically to the second statement, which is called the inverse implication of the first statement. What does follow logically is the contrapositive implication, which states that “not B implies not A”, or that a natural but not sacramental marriage must use the marriage ceremony outside of Mass. Unless, of course, the priest breaks the rules.
 
Whether the marriage between an unbaptized person can take place at a Mass is solely dependent on permission from the Bishop. It is not absolutely forbidden.

In our diocese a marriage between a non-Catholic and a Catholic at Mass is usually discouraged because members of the non-Catholic family (or unbaptized person’s family) are not allowed to receive Communion which sometimes creates a stressful situation. One of my sons married an unbaptized woman at Mass three years ago.

Obviously the “rules” concerning marriage at Mass are not uniformly practiced from diocese to diocese and actually may depend on the attitude of the presiding priest.

Seventy years ago, when my parents married it was very different and a Catholic entering a mixed marriage was married either in the rectory or in the church vestibule sans a large wedding party. The discipline has been changed.
 
According to the USCCB (see here):
  1. What is a Nuptial Mass and when can a couple have one?
A Nuptial Mass is a Mass which includes the celebration of the sacrament of marriage. It has special readings and prayers suitable to the Sacrament of Marriage. The Sacrament of Marriage between two baptized Catholics should normally be celebrated within Mass.

If the situation warrants it and the local bishop gives permission, a Nuptial Mass may be celebrated for a marriage between a Catholic and a baptized person who is not a Catholic, except that Communion is not given to the non-Catholic since the general law of the church does not allow it. In such instances, it is better to use the appropriate ritual for marriage outside Mass. This is always the case in a marriage between a baptized Catholic and a non-baptized person.
 
According to the USCCB (see here):
  1. What is a Nuptial Mass and when can a couple have one?
A Nuptial Mass is a Mass which includes the celebration of the sacrament of marriage. It has special readings and prayers suitable to the Sacrament of Marriage. The Sacrament of Marriage between two baptized Catholics should normally be celebrated within Mass.

If the situation warrants it and the local bishop gives permission, a Nuptial Mass may be celebrated for a marriage between a Catholic and a baptized person who is not a Catholic, except that Communion is not given to the non-Catholic since the general law of the church does not allow it. In such instances, it is better to use the appropriate ritual for marriage outside Mass. This is always the case in a marriage between a baptized Catholic and a non-baptized person.
I know of a Bishop who celebrated a marriage in a mass and one person was not baptized. It can be done.
 
A non-baptized person can not receive a sacrament and the sacrament can not be received by just one half of the couple. That’s why her marriage will be a natural marriage and not a sacramental marriage.
I was an unbaptized when I married my spouse, a practicing catholic. We were allowed to marry with in the catholic church before the alter. We did not have a full mass at our wedding, communion was not offered.

I did not received baptism until a year after our marriage. At that point our marriage all of a sudden becomes sacramental? Doesn’t make sense to me. Please help me understand.

Wouldn’t we need to present ourselves to the church, after my baptism, to receive the sacrament upon our marriage, in order for it to really qualify as sacred?

How can one action (marriage in this case), that is not considered sacred, all of a sudden become sacred, by an action (baptism) that is performed at a later date?

Just confused…
 
I know of a Bishop who celebrated a marriage in a mass and one person was not baptized. It can be done.
I’ve personally seen a number of things that were done yet were still against the rules. For example, I’ve seen a woman deliver the homily at Mass.

I seem to recall a thread a while back where a Catholic priest married a couple before one of their annulments came back, on the theory that it was a sure thing, and even if it did turn out to be denied, the person deserved it anyway.

There is a wide gap between theory and practice in the Catholic Church.
 
I’ve personally seen a number of things that were done yet were still against the rules. For example, I’ve seen a woman deliver the homily at Mass.

I seem to recall a thread a while back where a Catholic priest married a couple before one of their annulments came back, on the theory that it was a sure thing, and even if it did turn out to be denied, the person deserved it anyway.

There is a wide gap between theory and practice in the Catholic Church.
Just Lurking I agree with you on that point. I don’t like it either. I asked about this awhile back on CAF and was told that in this matter, the Bishop may make this decision. I thought I read on somewhere in a document that it was permissable. This is a particularly orthdox bishop too.
 
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