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Well Ida,
Divorce, in and of itself, does not
keep one from the Eucharist however,
a second marriage could.
Were you to become a Catholic, the
Church would have to determine if
your prior marriage were sacramentally
valid. If it is not, then the Church
would grant you an annulment. This
is a declaration that a marriage
never happened.
Each case is different. There are
a variety of reasons why the Church
would find a marriage sacramentally
invalid. They range from:
- emotional immaturity at the
time of the marriage
- a refusal of one spouse to have
children, or
- some other reason.
I'm not sure, but since your marriage
was outside the Church, it may not
be considered sacramental anyway.
This might not even be an issue.
The Church may require that your
current marriage be blessed by the
Church.
As for the Eucharist, I'm afraid
you're not really receiving it now.
All Protestant denominations during the Reformation period, not
only broke from the Church and interrupted Apostolic Succession, but Thomas
Cranmer under Henry VIII rewrote the
form (words) for the Sacrament of Holy Orders, so when they "ordained" bishops,
neither their
"holy orders" nor their "priests" were validly recognized by the Church.
In effect, you are receiving bread
and wine — not the Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Our Lord. While
the "sacrament" you are
receiving in your denomination is
a powerful symbol, it is not the Eucharist.
The only Churches where you can find
a valid Eucharist are the Catholic
and Orthodox Churches. While our
Orthodox brothers did split from
us, they have retained Apostolic
Succession, and thus have valid Holy
Orders and Sacraments.
It is not that the Church wants to
deny remarried people Communion,
but a second marriage, with
the prior marriage being valid,
is technically adultery in the eyes
of the Church.
Hope this helps,
John DiMascio
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