Divorced people are technically not supposed to take communion in a Catholic church, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the many reasons I stopped believing. So someone who escapes an abusive husband can't ever get communion again? That doesn't seem very God like. I've found religious people to be the most intolerant and judgy people I've ever met.

That's the kind of thing that keeps me from believing. It just makes no sense to me that this apparent loving God could be so harsh.

As I posted in another response - this should not keep you from believing. This is a man-made rule in one sect of Christianity. There is some theological underpinning for it, but it’s disputed and there are stronger arguments against it than in favor of it.

The central issue in Christianity is whether Jesus rose from the dead or not. That’s what you should focus on in terms of whether you believe. Not this issue. It’s like judging a baseball game by the number of hits or walks, not the number of runs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they’ve had an annulment in the Church, they can receive communion.

I had an older, very devout relative who went years without receiving communion because she had married a divorced man. A kind priest asked her about it and was able to help the couple to get an annulment of the first marriage. The husband had only been married for a few months as a 19/20 year old, no kids, so the annulment was actually very easy.

My relative simply didn’t know that this was a possibility. She was so happy that she could receive communion again after this very nice priest helped them.

So you really may not know the situations and backgrounds of the people you see receiving communion.

Are annulments really that common? I find it a little hard to believe all the divorcees who come to Mass got annulments. All the non-annulment divorcees just quit coming?

They are very common in heavily Catholic countries like the Philippines.

Divorce is illegal in the Philippines.

[Anonymous]

i think a divorced person can receive Communion if they’ve gone to confession, it’s the remarrying or dating that’s the issue without an annulment. You can civilly divorced but the church has to annul your marriage.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps this is an don't ask don't tell situation, OP, in your particular church. I am sure all sorts of sinners get up to receive communion, just because they don't want to feel left out in the moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the many reasons I stopped believing. So someone who escapes an abusive husband can't ever get communion again? That doesn't seem very God like. I've found religious people to be the most intolerant and judgy people I've ever met.

That's the kind of thing that keeps me from believing. It just makes no sense to me that this apparent loving God could be so harsh.

As I posted in another response - this should not keep you from believing. This is a man-made rule in one sect of Christianity. There is some theological underpinning for it, but it’s disputed and there are stronger arguments against it than in favor of it.

The central issue in Christianity is whether Jesus rose from the dead or not. That’s what you should focus on in terms of whether you believe. Not this issue. It’s like judging a baseball game by the number of hits or walks, not the number of runs.

The people who tell me about Jesus rising from the did seem to be argely liars and hypocrites, and Jesus never told me Himself, so, yeah, it's hard to have faith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only ask because divorce is somewhat common and I literally never see any middle aged or older people at Mass but not taking communion. Do divorcees and people who remarry just ignore that?

Im confused.

Its impossible for you to know this, because as a devout Catholic you would never see other people taking communion, as you would be busy with your own. Unless you are a non Catholic who frequently attends mass with a friend or family member?

[Anonymous]

This being DCUM, it's important to note that being divorced and even being remarried civilly does not prevent taking the Eucharist. Only living together as husband and wife (having sex), while bound to another through a non-annulled marriage, violates the marriage rules for Eucharist. And since middle aged DCUM couples don't have sex, they're in the clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This being DCUM, it's important to note that being divorced and even being remarried civilly does not prevent taking the Eucharist. Only living together as husband and wife (having sex), while bound to another through a non-annulled marriage, violates the marriage rules for Eucharist. And since middle aged DCUM couples don't have sex, they're in the clear.

Wow that is a lot of virgin births

[Anonymous]

annulment= pay us a lot of money and we can make it go away.

[Anonymous]

Divorced people who cannot receive holy communion:

- those remarried without an anullment
- those who initiated the divorce without grave reason (ie safety) and are unrepentant

[Anonymous]

I used to believe that Jesus rose from the dead because the Church told me to believe. Then I realized the Church says to believe a lot of ridiculous things and aren't credible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This being DCUM, it's important to note that being divorced and even being remarried civilly does not prevent taking the Eucharist. Only living together as husband and wife (having sex), while bound to another through a non-annulled marriage, violates the marriage rules for Eucharist. And since middle aged DCUM couples don't have sex, they're in the clear.

Wow that is a lot of virgin births

And lots of completed Confessions prior to taking/receiving. Which you also have to do. OP needs to confess to being a busybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the many reasons I stopped believing. So someone who escapes an abusive husband can't ever get communion again? That doesn't seem very God like. I've found religious people to be the most intolerant and judgy people I've ever met.

I have some personal experience with this as my mom was divorced and my parents did not get married in a Catholic Church and she did not get an annulment. So growing up, yes, my parents used to sit in the pew while everyone else took Communion (my sister and I were OK to take Communion though)

At the time, I thought it was an incredibly ostracizing feeling — like we have this God of love and grace and yet my parents were excluded from what is clearly the most important part of the Mass on the basis of a bad decision a long time ago. This absolutely skewed my view of religion for a long time.

Now, as an adult, divorced myself, I can understand the theological reasons for the Catholic Church’s position. But I still think they are wrong on this.

The Bible is clear that we get Jesus’s perfect record before God through her faith in him — even when we are sin and do not deserve it. Romans 8:1 is clear that there IS no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. My non-denominational church would not preclude someone from taking communion just because they were divorced.

Which gets to my larger point — this isn’t a reason to stop believing. Does the Catholic Church’s position on this one single issue mean that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead? All of Christianity turns on THAT issue — not this issue.

In Catholic law, your mother was never condemned. Sin is the natural state for all humans and Jesus is with you and loves you regardless of your sin. Receiving the Eucharist is a specific sacrament, and receiving it is not a condemnation.

Under Catholic law, it's basically impossible to not get into Heaven if you sincerely love Jesus Christ in your heart and are contrite for your past sins (even mortal ones). And Heaven is the presence of Jesus Christ, nothing more and nothing less, so there's a near perfect correlation between people who enjoy being heaven and people who go to heaven, and likewise for the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Wait so if you’re unmarried but having sex, you’re not supposed to receive communion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This being DCUM, it's important to note that being divorced and even being remarried civilly does not prevent taking the Eucharist. Only living together as husband and wife (having sex), while bound to another through a non-annulled marriage, violates the marriage rules for Eucharist. And since middle aged DCUM couples don't have sex, they're in the clear.

Wow that is a lot of virgin births

Does not necessarily follow. A virgin birth is only implied if someone, who is not currently in their first non-annulled marriage, and who has not received absolution after a sinful procreative act, has a baby.