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Dear chatham,

“I cannot see why a good Catholic in the state of grace and making a sincere ‘Act of Contrition’ can be prohibited from receiving the Sacraments.”

Of course a good Catholic in a state of grace can receive the sacraments.

The question is, who is in a state of grace? Who is really contrite?

When I look at the definition for “contrition,” I see that a synonym is “repentance.” Repentance includes the intention to try to avoid the sin in the future.

Thus, in the case of the remarried couple, one must ask, what is the sin? The sin is adultery - having sexual relations with someone who is not legitimately your spouse. Why is this person not legitimately your spouse? Because you already have a spouse, the person you divorced. Until that person dies (or you obtain a declaration of nullity), THAT is your spouse. If you have sex with anyone else, you are committing adultery.

Therefore, if, while you're emitting the behavior of contrition, you are planning to continue to have sex with your new partner, then it's very difficult to argue that you're sincere in your contrition, since it doesn't seem that you're actually repenting of - turning away from - your on-going sin.

“Put your trust In God.”

I'd say that that is precisely what the author of the original article is doing.

sitetest

As a failed Catholic (divorced and remarried), I have struggled with these rules also, but for the good of the Church abstain. I read the Mass and pray that I be in communion with Jesus in my heart. I don't recall that in the Pre-Cana marriage counseling and classes that my first wife and I attended that there was enough emphasis placed on the consequences of divorce. Even the priest we counseled with prior to divorcing did not bring out this prohibition. Forgoing communion is a difficult price to pay, but as a young man I didn't have the relationship skills or maturity to make the marriage work, and neither did my former spouse.

The prohibitions are in Canons 915 and 916:

Can. 915 Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.

Can. 916 A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.