Not attending brother's wedding

[sharmin]

I’m not sure if all of this this post is for real, or sarcasm, but I’ll bite.

1. the point of WWJD. Would Jesus have attended Herod’s wedding? (I’m sure he was a nice guy deep down)

Um, Herod ordered the slaughter of all little boys aged 2 and under. You think he was a nice guy deep down? Are you actually comparing being misguided about religious denomination to ordering the slaughter of babies?

2)Will he be present at this wedding because it is another denomination? (technically he won’t as they don’t have the Eucharist)

“Whenever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there.”

He’s there. Unless you think He lied to us when he said the above quote.

1. If what your brother is doing is a sin, then by going are you showing acceptance for his sin? (which is a sin in itself)

No. Not sure why you think his going is also a sin…

3a) If by attending would there be a scandal? (a perceived acceptance of your brothers choice as being an ok thing to do, and also a sin)

Going is not perceived acceptance. Going shows that you love your brother and will be there for him, even though you wish he would have stayed within his faith. Maybe your love will bring him back.

3b) Is going to the reception and not the service ok? Is raising a glass in toast to someone who may be putting themselves in a permanent state of sin something we should do as a follower of Christ?

Find me something in the catechism that says you cannot attend a wedding reception of someone who left the church.

1. Would you celebrate with someone who has a disdain (or maybe even hatred) for Christ and his Church? (this may not so much be your brother as the pastor and members of this church)

There is no indication of disdain for Christ…only misguided about religious denomination.

 

[tbcrawford]

I’m not sure if all of this this post is for real, or sarcasm, but I’ll bite.

Um, Herod ordered the slaughter of all little boys aged 2 and under. You think he was a nice guy deep down? Are you actually comparing being misguided about religious denomination to ordering the slaughter of babies?

“Whenever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there.”

He’s there. Unless you think He lied to us when he said the above quote.

No. Not sure why you think his going is also a sin…

Going is not perceived acceptance. Going shows that you love your brother and will be there for him, even though you wish he would have stayed within his faith. Maybe your love will bring him back.

Find me something in the catechism that says you cannot attend a wedding reception of someone who left the church.

There is no indication of disdain for Christ…only misguided about religious denomination.

Excellent responses
Just to reiterate my post no.69

From Apologist Michelle Arnold

As for general rules:
Catholics may attend all presumptively-valid marriages of Catholics, non-Catholics, and non-Christians.
For Catholics marrying other Catholics or marrying a non-Catholic Christian or non-Christian, a wedding is presumptively valid if it is done in accordance with Catholic marital law. Catholics marrying non-Catholic Christians or non-Christians need a dispensation from cult to marry the non-Catholic party and a dispensation from form if they are marrying in a non-Catholic ritual.
For non-Catholics and non-Christians who are marrying other non-Catholics or non-Christians, a wedding can be considered presumptively valid if there are no known impediments to the marriage. The most common impediments that outsiders are likely to know about would be previous marriage, close blood relationship, or same-sex partners. If none of these impediments are known to exist, a prospective guest may presume that the wedding will be valid.

Even presuming the wedding was presumptively invalid though, the Church does not explicitly forbid Catholics from attending invalid marriages and so Catholics must use their own prudential judgment in discerning attendance on a case-by-case basis.

and from post 71

The example given by Christ is noteworthy. He did not hesitate to associate Himself with sinners (Phil. 2:4-8). Though God, He took our human nature upon Himself, becoming like us in all ways except sin. He brought us truth in a way that we can easily understand. In this same way, we must not hesitate to associate ourselves with fellow sinners. However, we must take care to avoid sin and scandal.

 

[EasterJoy]

That was actually the case under the original 1983 Code of Canon Law, provided a Catholic formally defected from the Church. A formal defection used to remove the obligation to follow canon law with regard to marriages. Such a person did not need to apply for a dispensation to disregard proper form or marry a non-baptized person, and did not need to receive permission to marry a non-Catholic Christian.

But a new Motu Proprio released last year changed that part of canon law. Now even those who formally defect will still be obligated to follow the canons on marriage.

I stand corrected. Thank you!

Having said that, I think Michelle Arnold’s opinion is that a Catholic may discern that attendance at an invalid marriage without impediments other than dispensations may be a morally sound decision. IMHO, if the defect is potentially correctable, and not inherent, and if attendance at the wedding may lessen the disaffection of the Catholic party from the Church that stands in the way of correcting the error, and particularly if the Catholic party is a family member, then the way is clear to go.

 

[Lauds]

A Priest said one time during his sermon, that it is good sometimes for a person to leave his faith & explore other religions, cause when he returns to the true faith he realizes what he had. I believe this. Almost everyone leaves his faith at some point in his life. God is Patient

 

[that_name]

A Priest said one time during his sermon, that it is good sometimes for a person to leave his faith & explore other religions, cause when he returns to the true faith he realizes what he had. I believe this. Almost everyone leaves his faith at some point in his life. God is Patient

Pray for this priest, that he may not lead people astray.

ETA

This is flabbergasting! It files in the face of Scripture and all the teaching of the Church.

If this priest had said “it is good sometimes for a person to develop a cocaine habit and explore drug addiction because when he returns to sobriety he will realize how good it is” or had encouraged any other sinful/immoral behaviour, the priest would have had a churchful of people calling for him to resign.

Sad, sad, sad.

 

[EasterJoy]

A Priest said one time during his sermon, that it is good sometimes for a person to leave his faith & explore other religions, cause when he returns to the true faith he realizes what he had. I believe this. Almost everyone leaves his faith at some point in his life. God is Patient

There is a third way that happens too infrequently. That is for a person with doubts and questions to have someone to take those to without leaving the faith. Doubts are best dealt with, most of us have them, but you can go through doubts without leaving the Church. It is not as if time spent outside the Church is not time lost.

For instance, a person leaves the faith because his or her whole family are physically observant in every detail but otherwise seem as impermeable to grace as baked clay. It is not uncommon for such a person to meet friends who are non-Catholic but whose Christianity soaks every aspect of their lives. So the person leaves the Church and spends some time in one where no one is just going through the motions. Did the person need to get out of the dead faith they started in? Yes. Better, though, that the Catholic had found Catholic friends who make their faith the center of their lives, than to have left the Church.

A person is raised that there is “no salvation outside the Church”, with the incorrect interpretation of this that the Church teaches that all the non-Catholics are going to Hell. Again, they meet friends, Protestant, Jew, and Muslim, who serve God in good faith. Unable to believe that the Church could be right, they conclude the Church must not be infallible, and leave. Better that they had found someone who could correct the error that they had been taught.

Not uncommonly, those for whom faith is important enough to leave for another faith (as opposed to just drifting off out of apathy) are the ones who come back better for having made their faith a priority, for having been a searcher. They come back ahead of those who put their hour a week in to keep Mom happy but who never made the truth a priority. Sometimes, we really do need some help in realizing what we have. Far better that we are helped to that realization without ever leaving, though.

It would be different if we knew that those who left would come back, but far, far too many don’t. There are many enemies of the Church out there who are all too ready to permanently harden the hearts of wandering Catholics against their Mother.