Tuesday, September 13, 2016
St. John Paul II on Communion for the Divorced and Remarried
FAMILIARIS CONSORTIO
e) Divorced Persons Who Have Remarried
84. Daily experience unfortunately shows that people who have obtained a divorce usually intend to enter into a new union, obviously not with a Catholic religious ceremony. Since this is an evil that, like the others, is affecting more and more Catholics as well, the problem must be faced with resolution and without delay. The Synod Fathers studied it expressly. The Church, which was set up to lead to salvation all people and especially the baptized, cannot abandon to their own devices those who have been previously bound by sacramental marriage and who have attempted a second marriage. The Church will therefore make untiring efforts to put at their disposal her means of salvation.
Pastors must know that, for the sake of truth, they are obliged to exercise careful discernment of situations. There is in fact a difference between those who have sincerely tried to save their first marriage and have been unjustly abandoned, and those who through their own grave fault have destroyed a canonically valid marriage. Finally, there are those who have entered into a second union for the sake of the children's upbringing, and who are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that their previous and irreparably destroyed marriage had never been valid.
Together with the Synod, I earnestly call upon pastors and the whole community of the faithful to help the divorced, and with solicitous care to make sure that they do not consider themselves as separated from the Church, for as baptized persons they can, and indeed must, share in her life. They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in favor of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God's grace. Let the Church pray for them, encourage them and show herself a merciful mother, and thus sustain them in faith and hope.
However, the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage. This means, in practice, that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children's upbringing, a man and a woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate, they "take on themselves the duty to live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples."
Similarly, the respect due to the sacrament of Matrimony, to the couples themselves and their families, and also to the community of the faithful, forbids any pastor, for whatever reason or pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry. Such ceremonies would give the impression of the celebration of a new sacramentally valid marriage, and would thus lead people into error concerning the indissolubility of a validly contracted marriage.
By acting in this way, the Church professes her own fidelity to Christ and to His truth. At the same time she shows motherly concern for these children of hers, especially those who, through no fault of their own, have been abandoned by their legitimate partner.
With firm confidence she believes that those who have rejected the Lord's command and are still living in this state will be able to obtain from God the grace of conversion and salvation, provided that they have persevered in prayer, penance and charity.
Source: http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html
e) Divorced Persons Who Have Remarried
84. Daily experience unfortunately shows that people who have obtained a divorce usually intend to enter into a new union, obviously not with a Catholic religious ceremony. Since this is an evil that, like the others, is affecting more and more Catholics as well, the problem must be faced with resolution and without delay. The Synod Fathers studied it expressly. The Church, which was set up to lead to salvation all people and especially the baptized, cannot abandon to their own devices those who have been previously bound by sacramental marriage and who have attempted a second marriage. The Church will therefore make untiring efforts to put at their disposal her means of salvation.
Pastors must know that, for the sake of truth, they are obliged to exercise careful discernment of situations. There is in fact a difference between those who have sincerely tried to save their first marriage and have been unjustly abandoned, and those who through their own grave fault have destroyed a canonically valid marriage. Finally, there are those who have entered into a second union for the sake of the children's upbringing, and who are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that their previous and irreparably destroyed marriage had never been valid.
Together with the Synod, I earnestly call upon pastors and the whole community of the faithful to help the divorced, and with solicitous care to make sure that they do not consider themselves as separated from the Church, for as baptized persons they can, and indeed must, share in her life. They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in favor of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God's grace. Let the Church pray for them, encourage them and show herself a merciful mother, and thus sustain them in faith and hope.
However, the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage. This means, in practice, that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children's upbringing, a man and a woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate, they "take on themselves the duty to live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples."
Similarly, the respect due to the sacrament of Matrimony, to the couples themselves and their families, and also to the community of the faithful, forbids any pastor, for whatever reason or pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry. Such ceremonies would give the impression of the celebration of a new sacramentally valid marriage, and would thus lead people into error concerning the indissolubility of a validly contracted marriage.
By acting in this way, the Church professes her own fidelity to Christ and to His truth. At the same time she shows motherly concern for these children of hers, especially those who, through no fault of their own, have been abandoned by their legitimate partner.
With firm confidence she believes that those who have rejected the Lord's command and are still living in this state will be able to obtain from God the grace of conversion and salvation, provided that they have persevered in prayer, penance and charity.
Source: http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html
Monday, September 12, 2016
Rome Quotes
"Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."
-C.S. Lewis
-C.S. Lewis
Letter from the Pope's Brother
The Monsignor entered the seminary in 1935 and was ordained priest along with his brother in 1951. His little brother later became Pope.
Monsignor Ratzinger is canon of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Regensburg and former choir master of the famed choir of the same cathedral, the Regensburger Domspatzen.
Danke, caro maestro!
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Rome Quotes
"Indeed, how many and how important are the benefits which flow from the indissolubility of matrimony cannot escape anyone who gives even a brief consideration either to the good of the married parties and the offspring or to the welfare of human society."
-Pius XI
-Pius XI
Where Were You on 9/11/2001?
This luxury liner, which crossed the North Atlantic over 1,000 times is today a hotel, museum and conference center located in Long Beach, Cali. Staying here gives one the interesting vantage point of catching a rare glimpse of the golden age of superliner transatlantic travel.
It was a terrible night for me, spent most of the night on the floor of the Art Deco bathroom with a terrible vomiting spell. This was the result of, we later learned, my almost bursting appendix, which was surgically removed days later.
The night before I had dinner with my mother in downtown Long Beach. I remember it was a surreal evening. Dusk on the ocean. Navy men in their dress whites. Twenty-four hours later, we were on the beach at Santa Monica, in a veritable state of shock. Downtown Long Beach was shut down.
I was scheduled to fly out of LAX on 9-11. As we approached the airport, we noticed the exit was blocked off. We spent the day in Hollywood, visiting the homes of golden age stars, such as the Bel-Air home of Ronald Reagan (the Secret Service were keeping guard in a car) and the Beverly Hills home of Jimmy Stewart (which had sadly been torn down the year after he died).
I think I was the last person in the world to hear of the attack. As I awoke I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the promenade deck and sun deck in search of my mother. The ship was a maze and I found myself alone. In a shop in the first-class Piccadilly Circus, a female employee had her TV on and said to me, "America has been attacked."
New Chapel at Thomas Aquinas College
From Isaiah 66: "What kind of house can you build for me?"
This new construction treasure speaks beauty, grandeur, permanence and faith like nothing I have seen in recent years. It is so completely refreshing to see a new church that actually looks like a church.
God bless the design architect, the great Duncan Stroik, who has helped shape the evolution of the modern international classical movement. Duncan builds churches that are timeless rather than merely of their time. As he has said before, "A revival of sacred architecture is central to any true renaissance."
Hats off to the faculty, staff, student body, benefactors, dreamers and artists for making this dream a reality for the ages and nations. Visitors enter and stand in awe: "What great people built this?" It's a bit like being in Florence in the late sixteenth century.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Rome Quotes
"If the husband neglect his duty, it falls to the wife to take his place in directing the family."
-Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 28
-Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 28
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)