Rest assured the Pope is still Catholic and did not become
Pope by disregarding the teaching Jesus passed on to his Church. The Pope
became Pope because of the tremendous love he has for all people, including all
you sinful adulterers civilly divorced and remarried, of whom I used to be. The
Pope’s challenge is how to minister to those living in sin and how to get them
to turn from their sin instead of turning from the Church. Those who live in
sin die in sin and are not part of God’s Holy family. This is a devastating
loss and weighs heavy on the Pope’s heart.
The driving factor most of the time in cases like this is
because people believe they are being denied something someone else is allowed
to have. They feel discriminated against and act like little kids who stomp
their feet and hold their breath until they are given what they want. Civilly
divorced and remarried Catholics do not feel as if they have done anything
wrong and demand that they be allowed to receive the Eucharist just like
everyone else. The fundamental error so many make is in the belief that they
are receiving something. There is a general misconception of what a sacrament
is. So what really is a sacrament and why can’t I have that little piece of
bread everyone else is getting?
For those who remember their Baltimore Catechism the memorized
definition of a sacrament is;
“A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.”
The current Catechism of the Catholic
Church defines a sacrament as;
“Efficacious
signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is
dispensed to us.” CCC1127
Webster defines a sacrament as;
sacrament
[sak-ruh-muh nt]
noun
1. Ecclesiastical. a
visible sign of an inward grace, especially one of the solemn Christian rites
considered to have been instituted by Jesus Christ to symbolize or confer
grace: the sacraments of the Protestant churches are baptism and the Lord's
Supper; the sacraments of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches are
baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, penance, holy orders, and
extreme unction.
2. (often initial
capital letter). Also called Holy Sacrament. The Eucharist or Lord's Supper.
3. The consecrated
elements of the Eucharist, especially the bread.
4. Something regarded
as possessing a sacred character or mysterious significance.
5. A sign, token, or
symbol.
6. An oath; solemn
pledge.
Although definition 6 comes close it does not capture the
fullness of what a sacrament originally was. Sacrament is the English
translation of the Latin word “scaramentum”. Sacramentum was an oath unto death
that rendered the swearer “given to the gods”. It also referred to the thing
pledged as a sacred bond. It was the oath Roman soldiers took to Caesar and it
was unto death. To violate or go back on your oath cost you your life. And
therein is where the rub begins.
Marriage is a sacrament – an oath to the death that cannot be
undone. A civil divorce cannot absolve the sacrament of marriage and anyone who
moves on to another relationship or a second marriage is by definition an
adulterer. This is reaffirmed by Jesus in Mathew 19. Because this is direct
teaching of Jesus it is not subject to debate and not something the Church can
possibly change. When someone breaks this sacramentum they forfeit that which
was pledged, which in the case of marriage is your very life. If you have
forfeit your life as payment for the default of your oath you are then no
longer free to give it to another. This is why marriage after divorce is not
possible.
The Eucharist is also a sacrament. People mistakenly believe
that the Eucharist is simply something they receive. What they don’t realize is
that what they are doing is giving, not receiving. They are pledging an oath to
the death. When you accept the Eucharist you are entering into a covenantal
relationship with Jesus. A covenantal relationship is one where Jesus gives
himself fully to you and you give yourself fully to him. By eating the
Eucharist you are willingly pledging to give your life to Jesus even if that
requires you to die for him. When someone breaks this sacramentum they forfeit
that which was pledged, which in the case of the Eucharist is your very life,
just as it is for marriage. Saint Paul warns us that to eat of the Eucharist
unworthily you eat unto your death.
If you are civilly divorced and remarried you have reneged
on your oath to the death that you pledged when you were married. The price of
this is that you forfeit your life, it no longer belongs to you. When you
receive the Eucharist you again take an oath unto death. The problem here is
that you are pledging something that does not belong to you. You cannot freely
enter into this oath. This is the same reason that someone who has a mortal sin
on their soul cannot receive the Eucharist as well. The price of a mortal sin
is death and one who does not have life cannot pledge what they do not possess.
With this understanding it is easy to see that the Church is
not able to change her teaching concerning this matter and that no amount of
hope or prayer will lead the Pope to allow this to happen. Instead we need to
concentrate on how to be loving and pastoral and guide people back to that
which is right and just. Then we need to pray for the mercy of God for those
who blatantly disregard the truth for their own opinions.
