This was taken from the website,
inthespiritofcana.org website:
The Catholic Church, on the basis of Scripture and Tradition, teaches “the permanence of the union until death” (
Letter to Families, 1994); “the indissoluble character of marriage is the basis of the common good of the family” (ibid). Divorce is unacceptable. It is “a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other until death” (*Catechism of the Catholic Church, *2383).
Having stated this, the Church recognizes that the vast majority of couples who come to the Church for marriage do so committed to grow in love and confident that God will be present with them on their journey. However, the Church realizes that many couples “ask to be married in church for motives which are social rather than genuinely religious” (
Familiaris Consortio, 68).
(My opinion: getting married in church because of the long aisles or on a beach etc.) In some instances, pastors or parish staffs experience frustration when working with couples who do not practice their faith or who have little appreciation of the sacramentality of marriage. Some couples may be more responsive to parents or other persons who are making demands than to God’s invitation to make the moment sacred. Still others may lack the maturity needed to make the kind of commitment expected in Christian marriage. These guidelines offer assistance to pastors, deacons, pastoral ministers, and parish communities in their efforts to prepare couples for marriage and to continually evangelize them.
Our Lord Jesus promises life in abundance (
John 10:10) and invites us to be a people who build the kingdom of God based on values of truth, justice, and peace. We are called to be a holy people who live according to the covenant of love that God offered from the beginning of creation. The love of God for all creation is a beautiful thread woven into the fabric of human history and is reflected in the stories of our lives, which are our response to that gift of love.
In his letter to the Corinthians (
1 Corinthians 23:3 ff.), Paul speaks of the many qualities of love we experience in day-to-day living. He also invites and challenges us to strive for the perfection of this gift of love following the mission and ministry of Jesus himself. Throughout the centuries, the Catholic Church has reaffirmed the values of this gift of God and reaffirms the profoundly human and sacred vision of married love in the
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World of the Second Vatican Council:
If you explore this site, you will find out what is necessary to married in a place outside of the confines of a Catholic church, say in a another denominational Church or chapels. Rarely are outside weddings granted…
