Posted on 04/21/2014 3:56:43 PM PDT by NYer
From a reader…
QUAERITUR:
I have been asked to be my nieces godmother but I have to make my confirmation. The lady at the church [?] told me I can not do so until I have my marriage convalidated by the church. I have talked to several people and they find that odd. My husband (who is Methodist) is going to be the godfather is weary about it finds it extremely odd as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
I’m not sure who the “lady at the church” is – and sometimes these nameless and titleless people can have some odd ideas – but here, the lady at the church seems to be right on point.
If one is Catholic, one is bound to have one’s marriage celebrated in the Church. This is not just a matter of canon law, though that it important. This is a matter of following the Church’s teachings on marriage. We must also attend to the traditional Precepts or Commandments of the Church.
To be a confirmation sponsor, one must be a baptized and a confirmed Catholic in good standing. That only makes sense. How can one be a source of encouragement and guidance to the Catholic life for neophytes if one is not fully living a Catholic life oneself?
Getting your marriage convalidated (which is not just getting the marriage “blessed”, for you’ll be instructed and asked to place a new act of consent as you are entering into something new) will allow you to return to the reception of the sacraments of reconciliation and Holy Communion.
I presume that you’ve been informed that if your marriage is not recognized by the Church, you are not able to receive the sacraments.
If one wanted to be a godparent, one would similarly want to receive the sacrament of Confirmation and have one’s marriage celebrated in the Church as well.
Do not fall into the trap of seeing any of this as a “burden” or a “hoop” to jump through. This all makes perfectly good sense.
Another quick point: your husband, who is not Catholic, will technically not be a godparent, but a “Christian witness” to the baptism. Only those who are fully initiated Catholics can serve as godparents. A godparent is there to serve as a guide for the child in the Catholic life. Only those who are living the Catholic life can provide that service.
Interesting on many levels, ping!
BTTT!
**your husband, who is not Catholic, will technically not be a godparent, but a “Christian witness” to the baptism. **
This answers one of the questions I have always had about mixed marriages being godparents.
**I presume that you’ve been informed that if your marriage is not recognized by the Church, you are not able to receive the sacraments.**
How many are there like this who should not be receiving the Sacraments?
I don’t know. My wife and I are both Catholic, but we were married by a JP. However, we were our nephew’s godparents, and the Church didn’t blink an eye (though, they may not have asked us if we had been married in the Church; I think they just asked if we were legally married).
Is it time to have your marriage blessed?
“How many are there like this who should not be receiving the Sacraments?”
The number would be very large and include most married Catholic couples.
We’ve been married 31 years. I’d say it’s pretty blessed.
I would check with your priest.
Actually I should have said “con-validated.”
Living in a Josephite civil marriage my wife and I would encounter no problems receiving the sacraments. But I'm not confirmed and would not be unless it was wholly within the purview of the FSSP, etc.
Not finding any reference for that in canon law
http://www.catholicdoors.com/misc/marriage/canonlaw.htm
I might be mistaken because of the chaste relationship. I think of the parents of St. Therese of Lisseux.
“We’ve been married 31 years. I’d say it’s pretty blessed.”
Why not get all the blessings you can by being married in the Church?
“Living in a Josephite civil marriage my wife and I would encounter no problems receiving the sacraments.”
Josephite civil marriage? I don’t think there is such a thing. For it to be a Josephite marriage it needs to be a licit, valid Catholic marriage. I think you also need permission of the bishop in that case as well.
It has been known throughout many cultures as the bond of a man and a woman for reasons of spiritual and emotional intimacy and connection where partners help each other reach spiritual realization of God.
Has been discussed with a priest.
**I think you also need permission of the bishop in that case as well.**
My impression too from looking at the canon law site.
I don't need permission of the bishop for anything.
“Has been discussed with a priest.”
You still need to have your marriage regularized. Did that ever happen? Did you get permission from your bishop for a Josephite marriage?
I really don’t care what you do. It’s your soul. The Church, however, teaches that you should have more than a civil marriage and you don’t have one. The Church also, if I am not mistaken, says you should have permission from your bishop for a Josephite marriage. You can’t pick and choose what Church teachings and laws you’re going to follow.
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