Question about Eucharist

[therese_lisieux_1]

Can a Catholic widow receive Eucharist if she marries a divorced Catholic without annulment? I know he could not receive, but can she?

 

[LittleFlower378]

I would have to say no especially if she is having relations and living with the partner and has no intent on trying to rectify the situation with her partner.

 

[agnes_therese]

No. She was free to marry, but he was not.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

A marriage is valid for both parties or invalid for both parties. It can’t be valid for half the couple and invalid for the other half.

 

[jilly4ski]

A marriage is valid for both parties or invalid for both parties. It can’t be valid for half the couple and invalid for the other half.

And, as Catholic, she was required to marry in the Catholic form, which cannot be done if one isn’t free to marry. Since she did not marry in the Catholic form, she is in an invalid marriage.

 

[steve_b]

Can a Catholic widow receive Eucharist if she marries a divorced Catholic without annulment? I know he could not receive, but can she?

No.

The hypothetical you ask, no bishop priest or deacon could even perform such a marriage in the first place.

 

[therese_lisieux_1]

Are they both allowed to go to Confession?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Confession is a problem as long as they plan to continue living in an irregular marriage.

What this couple needs is not a band-aid, but to solve the underlying problem. They should speak with their priest about the possibility of a declaration of nullity for the divorced spouse. Then they can convalidate their marriage and receive the other sacraments they want.

 

[steve_b]

Are they both allowed to go to Confession?

What would that solve?

does it solve the problem for the man who is divorced and remarried without an annulment? No

does it solve the problem for the widow who marries him? No.

Until an annulment is granted for him, both would still be living an adulterous relationship. i.e. both would be living in mortal sin. And we know, no one better die in mortal sin.

 

[therese_lisieux_1]

So, if during the annulment process they both die in an accident, they are both condemned to hell?

 

[CB_Catholic]

So, if during the annulment process they both die in an accident, they are both condemned to hell?

I see this mistaken notion all the time. The Church condemns no one to hell, and does not say who is there or who is going there, etc. The ONLY ONE who makes that judgement is God alone. We cannot pass that judgement on anyone. The most the Church does is warn people that they can be in danger of eternal punishment if they die in UNREPENTANT mortal sin, and teach people the truth of Jesus Christ.

People will often say “If a person misses Mass and dies before he goes to Confession he will go to hell”. NO, that is NOT what the Church teaches. The Church teaches that if you die unrepentant of your sins, you will go to eternal punishment. But, only God knows who is sincerely repentant. We cannot judge the state of the soul or of the final disposition of any person. Ever.

We cannot know the mind of God other than what has been revealed to us, nor can we presume to know anything about the eternal state of anyone (except for canonized Saints).

I would like to ask people, esp. new to the faith or young and learning to please never make that sort of assumption again, or assume anything about another’s salvation, except for the Saints. That is simply privileged information for God alone.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

So, if during the annulment process they both die in an accident, they are both condemned to hell?

You’re painting things in the most negative possible way. I wonder why you would do that.

The couple has an irregular marriage and needs to remedy the situation. All they can do is take the steps necessary to have a valid marriage. If they were to die suddenly while pursuing a declaration of nullity and convalidation of their marriage, then they would rely on the mercy of God to understand that they were doing everything possible.

What other choice do they have? They either have to take steps to fix things or sit back and say “who cares?” It’s their choice.

 

[Vico]

So, if during the annulment process they both die in an accident, they are both condemned to hell?

If each is not in a state of grace at death, then damnation results. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church:1022 Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification 594 or immediately, 595 – or immediate and everlasting damnation. 596

At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love. 597

594 Cf. Council of Lyons II (1274) DS 857-858; Council of Florence (1439) DS 1304- 1306; Council of Trent (1563) DS 1820.
595 Cf. Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus (1336) DS 1000-1001; John XXII, Ne super his (1334) DS 990.
596 Cf. Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus (1336) DS 1002.
597 St. John of the Cross, Dichos 64.
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.

​

 

[steve_b]

So, if during the annulment process they both die in an accident, they are both condemned to hell?

1. 
   *]The annulment process isn’t a gurantee one will receive an annulment at the end of the process.
   *]During the annulment, process the man is still not available for marriage.
   *]Only after the process and the annulment is successful, is he available for marriage
   
   Re: a previous question
   

   Are they both allowed to go to Confession?

   The CCC answers that as follows 1650
   
   For further clarification on this hypothetical case, 2384

 

[steve_b]

I see this mistaken notion all the time. The Church condemns no one to hell, and does not say who is there or who is going there, etc. The ONLY ONE who makes that judgement is God alone. We cannot pass that judgement on anyone. The most the Church does is warn people that they can be in danger of eternal punishment if they die in UNREPENTANT mortal sin, and teach people the truth of Jesus Christ.

People will often say “If a person misses Mass and dies before he goes to Confession he will go to hell”. NO, that is NOT what the Church teaches. The Church teaches that if you die unrepentant of your sins, you will go to eternal punishment. But, only God knows who is sincerely repentant. We cannot judge the state of the soul or of the final disposition of any person. Ever.

We cannot know the mind of God other than what has been revealed to us, nor can we presume to know anything about the eternal state of anyone (except for canonized Saints).

I would like to ask people, esp. new to the faith or young and learning to please never make that sort of assumption again, or assume anything about another’s salvation, except for the Saints. That is simply privileged information for God alone.

So that people have the proper view, The Church makes conditional statements regarding this subject

For example (emphasis mine)

**1035 **The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, “eternal fire.” The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

**1036 **The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call to conversion: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
"Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where “men will weep and gnash their teeth.”