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Lewis LookingToUnderstand wrote:

Hi, guys —

I have a Baptist background and am recently married. My wife is from an Italian Catholic family. There are some things that I either disagree with or do not understand about your faith.

For instance, if you are not married in the Catholic Church, it is not recognized by God or the Church.

  • Also, why is the Catholic faith the chosen faith?

Jesus was a Jew, not a Catholic.  It seems you are saying your soul does not go to Heaven unless you are a Catholic. In that case, God did not allow His very own Son, who was a Jew, to go to Heaven.

  • Can you make sense out of this?

Also Jesus was born from a virgin, a mother, not married in the Catholic Church.

It just seems like the Catholic Church is claiming too much when She teaches it is the only way to Heaven and that the one you worship, Jesus, was a Catholic as well.

He chose Christianity above all. It doesn't matter what Church you were married in. What matters is the love and faith one has for God.

I know that religion is built on faith and I am a religious man. I just want more information or clarity on these issues, If you can help.

Thank you,

Lewis

  { Can you provide clarity on these topics seeing I'm a devout Baptist who just married a Catholic? }

Mary Ann replied:

Lewis —

It is true, we all need more formation and faith!

I would suggest reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church to know what our Church teaches. You and your wife could read it together and talk about things as you go.  This is something similar couples, in your situation, should do before marriage.

The Church knows that baptized people, to be married, must be married in Christ. Before there was such a thing as civil marriage or Protestant sects, people would get married with witnesses from the community or family, because marriage has always been considered a public event,
a social reality.

The Church wanted her children to be married within the Body of Christ, within the Church, so she required an official Catholic witness. That is all Church form means. Without it, She [the Church] considers that a Catholic cannot receive the sacrament, and, therefore, is not married.

Jesus' mother was married according to established customs of the People of God, the Jews.
The new People of God, as you know from your Scripture, is the Body of Christ. You also know from Scripture that Jesus said He would found a Church (Matthew 16:13-20) (using the word translated as ecclesia, which means called out; a word which had been used by the Jewish people.)

He started an organization, yes, but He also, by giving Himself and imparting the Spirit, started a Living Body which is an extension of His own Body. He made His People: those who wanted to be one in faith with him, plus any Gentile who wished the same, into His Bride.

Mary Ann

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