this is a 2 part question,1st- if you received the sacrement of marriage and before your status was widow but before you were catholic u were married 3 times does that matter.
we spend to much time basing fact on internet!m T his is leading somewhere,i promise!
Christ keeps opening these doors for me if he was displeased with me i know for a fact he would have slammed a few especially since i am seeking seminary by his calling. I with out good wisdom cannot because my out of country bride wants only to fulfill this dream which is the U.S. i believe.I am in the middle of the desert right now with my discernment and then i read this letter from a man that was divorced which i am not but it put questions in my mind. i do not want to displease3 my GOD in any way. SURELY I AM OK WITH THIS PAST WHICH I HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN FOR already
Forgive me if I misunderstand you, but your post is a little difficult to understand. I am going to try to answer your questions with the best of my ability.
It seems to me that you are saying that you are currently a widower (since you are a man and are thinking of the seminary). You have been married 3 times, but the most recent one resulted in death of a spouse? Did you have an annulment on the first two marriages? I assume that you did since it appears that you were married recently in the Catholic Church, and any wise Catholic priest would tell you that your previous marriages would have to be annulled before you could be married in the Church again.
You state that you have not been divorced before, so that backs up my annulment assumption. If you have had annulments on the two previous marriages and you were married the third time in the Catholic Church, rest assured that everything you did was correct. However, if you have not had annulments on the first two, the first marriage is the only “licit” or “legal” marriage and is the only one recognized in the Church. The second and third marriages would not be recognized and the partners would be committing adultery. The reason for this? Divorce is not recognized by the Church. Divorce is a civil matter. Those who are divorced are expected to continue living as husband and wife even though they may be living separately. Neither of them are to be married again until the marriage is annulled by a Tribunal. If the person is currently married, they should live with their partner as brother and sister until the previous marriage is annulled (this means no conjugal relations as husband and wife).
If your situation is the one I discussed above as having all the annulments to the two preceding marriages and the last one ended in the death of the spouse, then rest assured that you are forgiven. If you have any children, they must not be dependent on you for support if you are entering the seminary. You would have to wait until they are at least 18 years of age and non-dependent before applying to the seminary.
Every diocese has a Vocations office for those who are interested in pursuing religious life or the priesthood. I suggest finding out who the Vocation Director is in your diocese and making an appointment with them to discuss your options. Also, if you don’t have a spiritual director, get one! Don’t do this alone! A spiritual director can be a priest, sister, brother, deacon, or lay person that you trust with your vocation.
If I can be of any more assistance, please let me know. And God bless you!
