Dear Catholic Exchange:
I have just finished reading Broken Promises, by Steven W. Mosher. How tragic it is to continually read these kinds of stories. Especially tragic is to know these things could be solved by a donation of a mere $14. I can manage that much, and so can so many other people. In fact, I think I give quite generously to various organizations throughout the year. I say a prayer every day, and the first two lines read, “Dear Lord, teach me to be generous; To give and not to count the cost.” This has been my attitude toward giving for some time now.
We just had “World Mission Sunday.” The fliers and envelopes all tell us how the money is used. But, what really happens to the money we give so generously? We're reassured that the money goes to the missions. No one, however, can follow the donations all the way to the hands of those that need it. With the corrupt governments throughout the world we can see that those in need are not getting it. We can't even trust our own government with the millions and billions of dollars they administer (our tax money). There is so much unaccountability. Just look at the United Nations, and the UNFPA, or UNICEF. Boy, did we all get suckered into that one when we were kids. “Trick or Treat for UNICEF.” What are they doing with the money now?
Despite all of the good intentions of those who really care about the suffering millions throughout the world, until we get something in place to insure our donations get to those in need, we will still be reading articles like this for years and decades to come.
God Bless,
Merton Garrison
Port Orchard, WA
Do You Need a Priest to Get Married?
Dear Catholic Exchange,
I just took a quiz on the sacrament of Matrimony, and I’m really having a hard time believing the answer to this question is correct:
The question read, “In the western Church, the sacrament of Marriage is administered by…”? Before even addressing the answer, I must say I find the question itself problematic. It’s obvious the answer must be BYTHE PRIEST because only he can administer sacraments. Yet, the answer came up stating the groom and the bride give the sacrament to each other. Since they can’t confer sacramentality, aren’t they merely cooperating with the priest in his conferral of the sacrament? To me, the answer as infers, YOU DON’T NEED A PRIEST! This is simply untrue. In order to be fully and sacramentally married, the priest must confer the sacrament.
Thanks for clarifying things for me.
Sincerely,
Ebelen
Dear Ebelen:
Actually, the answer to the quiz is correct. Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church states on the matter:
In the Latin Church, it is ordinarily understood that the spouses, as ministers of Christ's grace, mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. In the Eastern liturgies the minister of this sacrament (which is called “Crowning”) is the priest or bishop who, after receiving the mutual consent of the spouses, successively crowns the bridegroom and the bride as a sign of the marriage covenant(no. 1623).
This does not mean you don't need a priest. The Catechism continues:
The priest (or deacon) who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church. The presence of the Church's minister (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality (no. 1630).
This is the reason why the Church normally requires that the faithful contract marriage according to the ecclesiastical form (no. 1631).
Several reasons converge to explain this requirement:
•Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;
•Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards their children;
•Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have witnesses);
•The public character of the consent protects the “I do” once given and helps the spouses remain faithful to it.
You learn something everyday!
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
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