As difficult as this may be, the answer is no. We must remember that the Holy Eucharist, or Communion, is the sacrament by which Catholics most clearly express their unity as the Body of Christ and the One Church. When a person in a valid sacramental marriage contracts a civil divorce and marries another, then, by his or her actions, he or she has stepped outside the teaching of Jesus Christ and His Church that marriage is indissoluble (Matthew 10:11-12). By doing this, they have broken the bond of unity with the Church and may not receive Eucharistic Communion while the situation persists (CCC #1650).
It is very sad and painful, but Catholics who are divorced and remarried civilly find themselves in a situation that goes directly against God’s law. The problem is that many do not even know this. Those who find that for some serious reason (for example, the raising of children) they cannot separate, the solution would be for them to go to confession, receive absolution for breaking fidelity to Christ, and decide to live a life of abstinence from the sexual acts of marriage. The reason for this, of course, is because their new union is not valid in the eyes of God and His Church since the first marriage still exists.
There are some who mistakenly see this as some kind of punishment by the Church, but the reality is that the Church is only trying to be faithful to Christ and what He taught. This is not always easy. However, there are some things that, no matter how much we wish they were different, cannot be changed because they are based on the Truth, (which is God Himself) and it cannot change for anyone. God is the same – yesterday, today and tomorrow. But God is merciful and He knows how weak we are. At the same time, we must do all we can to understand His ways and pray that one day all Christians will come to see marriage the way Christ meant it to be – an image or reflection of the love that He had for the Church, one that is always faithful and forever.
© Copyright 2002 Grace D. MacKinnon
Grace MacKinnon is a syndicated columnist and public speaker on Catholic doctrine. Readers are welcome to submit questions about the Catholic faith to: Grace MacKinnon, 1234 Russell Drive #103, Brownsville, Texas 78520. Questions also may be sent by e-mail to: grace@deargrace.com. You may visit Grace online at www.DearGrace.com.
