May I recieve Holy Communion?

[teacup14]

I spent my adult life as an Evangelical “Anti-Catholic” until this past Easter vigil when I joined the Church.(Very long story.) A "friend"told me I shouldn’t recieve communion because my husband was divorced prior to our marriage. He was raised Catholic but had married a Protestant in a protestant church.He doesn’t attend church at all and I know he can’t recieve communion until he gets an anullment but does this affect me? We’ve been married 13 years and I would like to see our marriage blessed someday. thanks for any help!

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear Teacup,

This matter should have been dealt with before you were received into the Church. This is not your fault, but it does cause me to wonder about the competence of those who prepared you in the RCIA.

According to your account, the Church does not consider your present marriage to be valid. Until your husband gets an annulment and is free to marry you in the Catholic Church, you are considered to be living with each other without the benefit of marriage. This is considered to be sinful—unless you are living as brother and sister until your marriage in convalidated (blessed). It sounds to me that the Church only has to ascertain that your husband was invalidly married outside of the Catholic Church. This should not take all that long.

You might want to check with your local marriage tribunal to see how the case is going. You are in my prayers.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.