Married & Divorced ... can I receive Communion?

[ecowave]

1. About 12 years ago, I was married outside the Catholic Church then divorced 6 years later. I never registered my wedding with the church. I read somewhere that I could still receive communion. Is this true? We have no children.
2. Also, I just got engaged … we are to be married in 16 months. Will I have to do anything special regarding my previous marriage?
3. Lastly, my Fiance is Baptized but was never Confirmed. Is this an obstacle for us getting married in a Catholic Church?

This website/forum is fantastic. As you can tell, I’ve been away from our religion for a long time and I just spent hours reading and learning. I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight!

Thank you in advance for your time invested in answering my questions/concerns.

God Bless,
Kamie

 

[fermat]

1. About 12 years ago, I was married outside the Catholic Church then divorced 6 years later. I never registered my wedding with the church. I read somewhere that I could still receive communion. Is this true? We have no children.
2. Also, I just got engaged … we are to be married in 16 months. Will I have to do anything special regarding my previous marriage?
3. Lastly, my Fiance is Baptized but was never Confirmed. Is this an obstacle for us getting married in a Catholic Church?

This website/forum is fantastic. As you can tell, I’ve been away from our religion for a long time and I just spent hours reading and learning. I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight!

Thank you in advance for your time invested in answering my questions/concerns.

God Bless,
Kamie

You will need to submit your previous marriage to the marriage tribunal for review for an annulment. If they determine that your previous marriage never really happened, you should be free to marry in the Church.

If you have had or are having sexual relations with your fiancée, then you will need to abstain and go to confession. After that you should be free to receive communion again. I would consult your priest with the details just to make sure.

The fact that your fiancée was never confirmed should not be an obstacle. If your fiancée was married previously, then he/she will need to go through the same annulment process.

Your local pastor should be able to guide you through the process.

Welcome home!

 

[puzzleannie]

1. About 12 years ago, I was married outside the Catholic Church then divorced 6 years later. I never registered my wedding with the church. I read somewhere that I could still receive communion. Is this true? We have no children.
2. Also, I just got engaged … we are to be married in 16 months. Will I have to do anything special regarding my previous marriage?
3. Lastly, my Fiance is Baptized but was never Confirmed. Is this an obstacle for us getting married in a Catholic Church?

welcome to the forums
not enough info, the person to ask is your pastor, and make sure he knows all the facts of your situation, including the living arrangments with your fiance (which are none of our business here)
If facts are as stated, and there is usually much more to the story, your first marriage is invalid due to lack of form (you did not marry according the Church law) and that requires a rather simple paperwork process to establish. From the time you left that relationship, you had merely to return to confession and communion to be in good standing with the Church. You can do that now, simply go to confession and come back to the sacraments (assuming there is no other issue). If you are already engaged you should see your pastor right away to begin marriage preparation, so your fiance has time to prepare for and receive confirmation. Obviously you are not living together with the common meaning of that expression until you are actually married in the Church.
see your pastor, make the appointment today, don’t stay away from the sacraments any longer, and welcome home

 

[ecowave]

Thank you so much for your responses. I will call and setup a time to meet with a local Church as you suggested.

Life has been crazy busy over the last decade with me trying to build a career and a family (even though it didn’t work out). My employer let me go a couple of weeks ago and I’m glad I have a little break right now. I really think God put that one together for me. I truly believe he helped me save up my money over the last 8 months so I could take a little break this summer. My employer let me go illegally (I came down with the flu then bronchitis so they said I couldn’t teach which is what my contract was for and they had no other work for me to do) and rather than be upset about it and try to sue, I see this as an opportunity and I thank God for it.

Not all negative events end up with negative results!

God bless and thanks again for your advice. I’ll crawl in these forums slowly but surely. There’s just so much to catch up on!!!

 

[white_sheep]

1. About 12 years ago, I was married outside the Catholic Church then divorced 6 years later. I never registered my wedding with the church. I read somewhere that I could still receive communion. Is this true? We have no children.

Yes, it is not a recurring sin so no action is necessary. Go to confession and include this and you’re ok, at least on this issue.

 

[ecowave]

Thank you White Sheep!

 

[white_sheep]

Thank you White Sheep!

No problem. Although now I see I was a little ambiguous. No action is needed to rectify the situation before confession and communion is possible since it a sin that is no longer ongoing. However, it still must be confessed, along with the improper marriage and any other sins you need to confess prior to communion.

For a first confession in a long time it is probably best to schedule an appointment with your priest.