Sacrament -#9 Flashcards
Catholics who marry before a Protestant minister incur excommunication
True - The correct answer is true. As stated in the Baltimore Catechism #1040: “Catholics who marry before a Protestant minister incur excommunication; that is, a censure of the Church or spiritual penalty which prevents them from receiving the Sacrament of Penance till the priest who hears their confession gets special faculties or permission from the bishop; because by such a marriage they make profession of a false religion in acknowledging as a priest one who has neither sacred power nor authority.” Note, that this was written in the mid-1800s. Since that time, priests have been given the permission to forgive these sins. So while marrying before a protestant minister is a sin, it can be forgiven like all sins.
Civil authority can dissolve the bonds of marriage by divorce
False - Explanation: The correct answer is false. As stated in the Baltimore Catechism #1024: “Divorce granted by courts of justice or by any human power does not break the bond of marriage, and one who makes use of such a divorce to marry again while the former husband or wife lives commits a sacrilege and lives in the sin of adultery. A civil divorce may give a sufficient reason for the persons to live apart and it may determine their rights with regard to support, the control of the children and other temporal things, but it has no effect whatever upon the bond and spiritual nature of the Sacrament.” Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #346: “The sacrament of Matrimony establishes a perpetual and exclusive bond between the spouses. God himself seals the consent of the spouses. Therefore, a marriage which is ratified and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. Furthermore, this sacrament bestows upon the spouses the grace necessary to attain holiness in their married life and to accept responsibly the gift of children and provide for their education.”
Our Lord raised the pre-existing ceremony of marriage to a Sacrament and, unlike in Old Testament times, forbid divorce from henceforth
True - The correct answer is true. As stated in the Baltimore Catechism #1008: “The exact time at which the contract of marriages was raised to the dignity of a Sacrament is not known, but the fact that it was thus raised is certain from passages in the New Testament and from the constant teaching of the Church ever since the time of the apostles. Our Lord did not merely add grace to the contract, but He made the very contract a Sacrament, so that Christians cannot make this contract without receiving the Sacrament.”
For a Christian it is not sufficient to get only the civil marriage or contract
True - : The correct answer is true. From the Catechism of St. Pius X Q. 24, 26: “For a Christian, it is not sufficient to get only the civil contract, because it is not a sacrament, and therefore not a true marriage…. We should perform the civil marriage, because, though it is not a sacrament, it provides the spouses and their children with the civil effects of conjugal society; for this reason, the ecclesiastical authority as a general rule allows the religious marriage only after the formalities prescribed by the civil authorities have been accomplished.” [In many countries, especially English speaking countries, the civil authority acknowledges the religious marriage and gives it the civil effects, thus there is no need of a separate ceremony. However the states often add certain requirements and formalities which should be observed.
The priest is the minister of the Sacrament of Matrimony
False - The correct answer is true. From the Catechism of St. Pius X Q. 24, 26: “For a Christian, it is not sufficient to get only the civil contract, because it is not a sacrament, and therefore not a true marriage…. We should perform the civil marriage, because, though it is not a sacrament, it provides the spouses and their children with the civil effects of conjugal society; for this reason, the ecclesiastical authority as a general rule allows the religious marriage only after the formalities prescribed by the civil authorities have been accomplished.” [In many countries, especially English speaking countries, the civil authority acknowledges the religious marriage and gives it the civil effects, thus there is no need of a separate ceremony. However the states often add certain requirements and formalities which should be observed.
Among Christians there can be no true marriage that is not a sacrament
True - he correct answer is true. As stated in the Catechism of St. Pius X #6: “Among Christians there can be no true marriage that is not a sacrament.”
Catholics should be married before the altar in the Church. They should be married in the morning, and with a Nuptial Mass if possible
True - The correct answer is true. From the Baltimore Catechism Q. 1050: “Catholics should be married before the altar in the Church. They should be married in the morning, and with a Nuptial Mass if possible.”
A Catholic may never be married more than one (even if a spouse is deceased)
The correct answer is false. As stated in the Baltimore Catechism #1049: “Persons may receive the sacrament of Matrimony more than once, provided they are certain of the death of the former husband or wife and comply with the laws of the Church.” Marriage ends at death. There is no marriage in Heaven. After a spouse dies, the surviving spouse is free to enter into another marital union.
Marriage was first instituted in the Garden of Eden
The correct answer is true. As stated in the Baltimore Catechism #1007: “Marriage was first instituted in the Garden of Eden, when God created Adam and Eve and made them husband and wife, but it was not then a Sacrament, for their union did not confer any special grace.”
Marriage was a Sacrament from the time of its institution.
False - The correct answer is false. As stated in the Baltimore Catechism #1007: “Marriage was first instituted in the Garden of Eden, when God created Adam and Eve and made them husband and wife, but it was not then a Sacrament, for their union did not confer any special grace.”
