Wedding Question

[Chatter163]

I think you are wrong to say that they can’t expresss there love for each other unless they also bring in some element of catholic prayer, but as for the OP’s situation, I think you would do well to note this post

I think you’re getting caught up on a technicality. It’s not a Church renewal of vows, but if they are already married with the Church, they can have a secular renewal of their love for each other without causing any issues.

I never said a word about “expressing there love” or “renewal of their love.” I said that these would not be renewal of vows, as the vows taken were Catholic. One can express one’s love for one’s spouse anywhere and anytime, but one cannot renew vows which were Catholic in a non-Catholic context.

 

[Phemie]

I never said a word about “expressing there love” or “renewal of their love.” I said that these would not be renewal of vows, as the vows taken were Catholic. One can express one’s love for one’s spouse anywhere and anytime, but one cannot renew vows which were Catholic in a non-Catholic context.

Since the renewal of wedding wows does absolutely nothing, what difference does it make?

 

[ABEACHGIRL]

"Sad but there are no biological relatives who can/world attend a Church cermeony so there’s no point it spending a lot of money on it.

Upon return they would have a full reception."

The church ceremony costs almost nothing. The money is usually spent on a dress and the reception. A “full” reception is costly.

 

[Chatter163]

Since the renewal of wedding wows does absolutely nothing, what difference does it make?

It doesn’t. That is the whole point. The couple will be declaring their love for each other yet again, but that does not make it a renewal of vows. Vows are Catholic and they be renewed without the presence of the Church. That was the subject of the OP.

 

[Phemie]

It doesn’t. That is the whole point. The couple will be declaring their love for each other yet again, but that does not make it a renewal of vows. Vows are Catholic and they be renewed without the presence of the Church. That was the subject of the OP.

Are you suggesting that those who aren’t Catholic don’t speak ‘vows’ when they get married? Because I don’t think the Church agrees with you.

Are you suggesting that if they repeated their vows in the Catholic Church, as Mom & Dad did on their 25th anniversary, those vows would actually ‘do’ something? What could they do if the vows originally spoken are for life?

 

[Chatter163]

Are you suggesting that those who aren’t Catholic don’t speak ‘vows’ when they get married? Because I don’t think the Church agrees with you.

No, I have not said that. Please pay attention to what I actually do say, rather than attributing things to me that I did not say. Non-Catholics do indeed take vows, but they are not vows in the sense that Catholic theology understands them.

The problem stems from the fact that secular and ecclesiastical language both speak of wedding vows. But clearly Catholic theology teaches something rather different about those vows.

Are you suggesting that if they repeated their vows in the Catholic Church, as Mom & Dad did on their 25th anniversary, those vows would actually ‘do’ something?

No, I am suggesting that Catholic vows can only be made or renewed in a Catholic context. Catholic vows cannot be “renewed” in any context other than a Catholic one, if one is to truthfully call them a renewal of vows. My wife and I took our vows in front of a priest, in a Catholic church. We could have gone to Vegas afterward, but the officiant there does not understand (or at least does not represent the understanding of) the Catholic church. To do so would not be a renewal, but a different and secular ceremony.

What could they do if the vows originally spoken are for life?

I do not understand what you are asking. They can renew Catholic vows only in a Catholic context. Anything else is a secular function–not sinful, but it cannot be accurately called a renewal, because elsewhere the vows are understood in a secular sense, which essentially makes them different vows.