HOW DOES DIVORCE AFFECT CATHOLIC MARRIAGE?

Catholic marriage is a sacrament and a covenant. Therefore, it is a lifetime commitment. As the Bible say; “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Gospel of Matthew 19:6) .

The House Bill 1799 or known as The Divorce Bill was made for those marriages that are beyond repair. The authors of this bill believed that it would help couples to make choices in life. They said that annulment and legal separation are not enough options for couples who are experiencing inreconcilable differences, inreparable breakdowns and frequent fighting, besides, annulment counts a lot of years to be approved, it means, the psychological and emotional pain would be prolonged. According to the proponents of this bill, it will also help the children because they wouldn’t be able to suffer and see their parents’ quarrel anymore.Supporters say that divorce will strengthen the sanctity of marriage.

The Catholic Church remains firm in their stand in “No To Divorce in the Philippines” in spite of the alarming increase of number of Filipinos from the different sectors of government and even some non-government organizations and other women’s group.The Church received lots of criticisms on their much involvement in this bill because the constitution declares its separation from the state. But it is the spiritual duty of the church to protect the sanctity of catholic marriage and the Filipino family.There are efforts to legalize the new proposed divorce bill but the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines or CBCP and some catholic lay-leaders strongly oppose this.They believed that it will not help the Filipino families but instead it will destroy the marriage.

Couples possibly feel unstable even after they divorced.They will hesitate to be in a relationship again because they would feel that history repeats itself. There are also studies made that children who are products of divorced parents are low in self-esteem, less effective at school and work. They tend to feel guilty about the situation. It results to children who are engage to negative thoughts and actions like alcoholism, teenage pregnancy or drug addiction.

To answer the question on how divorce affect the catholic marriage?; divorce takes away the truthfullness of your promise to your husband and above all to God during your wedding and defies the sanctity of a catholic marriage and the Holiness of the Covenant. It makes marriage a game not a lifetime partnership. It will lessen the ability of the couple to settle problems within the family. As a result, more a solution to bad marriage, it worsen the problem of the family and furthermore, it will add to the problems in the community. It only leads to immorality.

 

MATRIMONY

Matrimony is a ceremonial rite wherein a man and a woman are joined together by a priest or a bishop for a life-long relationship. It is the third of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. It is very essential among Catholics especially in promoting a Christian family. This catholic marriage has already been practiced many centuries ago until this present time. Everyone should respect its sanctity because the Bible clearly states that “Whoever God has joined together, no one has to break it”. It is a vital foundation in building a Christian family life. It can also set a good example to the children and young adults that engaging in a life-time family relationship should always start in a catholic marriage, especially among Catholics.

In the kind of world today, that other people do not believe so much in the sacrament of marriage, it is important to promote good values specifically among our young adults, that belief must not come with the trend. Faith must remain within ourselves at all times and matrimony is always Holy. Getting married in a catholic marriage, is not a trend but a commitment that needs a special bond and requires bigger responsibility.

 

CATHOLIC MARRIAGE

Bonded by a “catholic marriage”.

What is a catholic marriage? How important is it to the community, to the church and to the couple themselves? Is it still practised until now? Does it make any difference to the families? These are some of the questions running on the minds of some people.

From the point of view of the Catholic Church, marriage is sacramental. It is the fundamental basis of a Christian family. It is also called a Matrimony. It is a celebration of the covenant by which two people ( a man and a woman) are bonded together to establish a permanent partnership that should last a lifetime and to procreate offsprings. They will both exchange their vows and promises for each other as husband and wife. It is usually concelebrated by a priest or a bishop. It is, somehow, believed to be the only way that Jesus Christ would bless their union. It has been a tradition that a wedding  celebration  ends up with a feastive gathering. But the journey of a catholic marriage does not end up in there, rather, it is just  the beginning of building  a family and having a greater responsibility.

The Church teaches that catholic marriage is not simply a relationship but a vocation. The husband and wife would eventually become parents. It  will be their responsibility then to install Christian values to their children and setting good examples that would make the family stronger. A strong family is important in building a better and prosperous community, a stronger and fulfilled church and harmony, not only to the couple, but to the family as a whole. Almost, if not all, believe in the sanctity of a catholic marriage. It gives an assurance and legality of your knot and most of all, the feeling that there is a Divine Intervention in every corner of the relationship.

Here in the Philippines, Christians are of great number. Among  Christians, Catholic owns the highest proportion. So, it is not surprising to see that catholic marriage  has become common and a norm in the society .

For  those who are planning to have a catholic marriage, there are some requirements to be considered and here are some of them ( not to mention the requirements from the city hall):

• You should be both Catholics
• You should have received the sacraments of:

1.       Baptism

2.       Confirmation

3.       Confession

• The couple should submit the following certificates:

1.       Birth certificate

2.       Baptismal certificate

• You have to fill-up some necessary documents given by the in-charge in the church
• You both have to undergo seminars and interview

 

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