Catholics and christians please help me with this question (excommunication and eucharist)?

Question

I have been told by my church that i cannot recieve the holy eucharist and that ive been excommunicated because i have been divorced, and because i wasnt married within the church in the first place, i did it through courts..

Is this legitimate for them to say this to me? is it a law implemented long ago by christian/catholic churches or is it just this particular churches decision to say this to me??

P.S. - any Weblinks and references will be HIGHLY appreciated as well..

thanks to all that reply....

Answer 1

A church may tell you to get out, but Jesus never would.

Find a church that teaches from the bible, which says that if we repent of sin, we are forgiven. I don't know the circumstances of your divorce, but I do know God loves you and will never cast you out, because He promises that in His word.

Come to my church, Calvary Chapel. We are all sinners, saved by faith in Jesus Christ!

Answer 2

In the Catholic Church you may not receive the Eucharist if you are currently in an invalid "marriage", because this situation constitutes an ongoing state of objective mortal sin. The same would be true of any other ongoing, unrepented state of serious sin. However, being divorced is NOT in itself a reason to forego the Eucharist. On the contrary, if you were previously in an invalid relationship, and have now ended the relationship, with or without a divorce, and have gone to confession regarding the previous illicit relationship, then you are free to receive the Eucharist.

Answer 3

Marrying out of the Church is a seriously sinful matter, and someone who does it is barred from receiving the sacraments.

If you are divorced now, and have not remarried, and are living your life according to the teachings of the Church, then you should be able to return to receiving Holy Communion after making a good confession. If you are married out of the Church, then you must have your marriage blessed by the Church before you can return to the sacraments.

Please make an appointment to discuss your situation with your priest as soon as possible. He will know the best way to address your situation.

Answer 4

Taking the Lord's supper is conditional upon:
1. You being a believer
2. You discerning the Lord's body which consists of:
A) understanding and appreciating what Christ did
B) not walking in any known, unacknowleged, unrepentant sin
C) being properly related to the Lord's body (church) - having sound relations with other Christians
3. You having been baptized

If your divorce was for your spouse's fornication/adultery or some other sexual perversion, then you had grounds for the divorce, and the church has nothing to say about it. The fact that the divorce occurred in the courts is objectionable in that believers are not to take other believers to secular court in order to protect the reputation of the Lord and His people. This does not mean that you can not be received whatever the church may say about it. If you have taken the steps to attempt reconciliation with your spouse and were not received, you are free.

It's getting late, so if you are interested in verse references in support of this, email me.

Blessings!
Tom

Answer 5

Technically, since your own church told you so, you are no longer a "valid member" of it, i.e., excommunicated, as in you got your walking papers already and you can no longer partake in any of the church's rituals such as taking communion and the rest of it.

It's time for you to move on to another church or denomination in your area. If, however, you find it difficult to be an "ex-Catholic" and still want to remain as one, then the next best thing for you to do is either to: a) ask for special dispensation from the powers that be [Bishop or much higher, maybe?] to reinstate your membership status; or b) simply find another church in a nearby diocese or parish and attend regular services there are usual. The latter is more like a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of surreptitious way of remaining as a Catholic. It's your call.

In my case, I willfully decided to leave the church for a myriad reasons that will require a whole new chapter to get into.

Good luck in your search and Godspeed.

Peace be with you.

Answer 6

Well, if you are divorced and was not married in a Catholic Church you cannot receive Holy Communion. I don't know about the excommunication part. Let me check.

I don't think being divorced and not being married in Church constitutes grounds for excommunication. God desires everyone to be saved so I think attending Mass and other worship services should not be taken against you.

"Certain particularly grave sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which impedes the reception of the sacraments and the exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or priests authorized by them. In danger of death any priest, even if deprived of faculties for hearing confessions, can absolve from every sin and excommunication.69"

I would advice you to talk to the Parish Priest concerning your case. For more information go to this link.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4U.HTM


Source:
Catechism of the Catholic Church

Answer 7

Catholics are Christians. Refraining from communion and excommunication are two different things. Specifically who in your church told you these things?

On a personal level I do not believe in either practice. Jesus did not reject people because they were not compliant, in fact he actively recruited people and openly defied the Sanhedrin. He did not tell the woman at the well she was thrown out of the church he just basically told her to "chill," so to speak. This position might be looked at as scandalous, even blasphemous, by the church so be it. God knows this is how I feel and so there ain't no use in lying about it or denying it.

Answer 8

Churches don't talk. Priests and bishops do.

If you are divorced and then remarried, without benefit of an annulment of your first marriage, then you cannot receive communion, but you are certainly NOT excommunicated.

You need to make an appointment with a priest and discuss all the details of your particular situation.

This is not the place to look for that type of advice.

Answer 9

Catholics are Christians.

I didn't think that you could be excommunicated without being there. Really! What nonsense. I thought, also, that any good church would welcome you back into the fold. Whose to kick you out of a mass, anyway?

Some answers here are quite unreal. For instance there was an answer saying to ask "your Guardian Angel". We are asked to be part of the Church along with people that believe they can converse with angels.

Answer 10

Although the Catholic Church can excommunicate you from their community, you are not therefore excommunicated from God. The Holy Spirit is always there for you. You simply need to reach out.

No organization controlled by man can keep the Grace of God out of your life.

God Bless,

AAD

Answer 11

Catholics are the unique Christians. the 1st church, which Christ began became into the Catholic church. For the 1st thousand years, there became into purely one Christian Church. In 1054, it chop up into 2 branches, the jap Orthodox Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church. there have been purely 2 Christian branches for yet another 500 years. In 1518, Martin Luther began a third branch, Protestantism. The third branch splintered into many denominations. you're probable spotting that Catholics at the instant are not Protestants. the unique Christian Church remains Catholic. The Amish is between the various Protestant denominations. Jehovah Witnesses at the instant are not a Protestant denomination yet an offshoot of Christianity via fact they suspect Jesus is the angel Michael and not the Son of God.