Marriage and Divorce
March 27, 2020
What’s the difference between divorce and annulment? And what does it mean for marriage to be a sacrament? Adam and David answer these questions and more as they discuss how the Catholic Church handles marriage and separation.
If you want to understand the Catholic perspective of marriage, you have to understand sacraments. As Adam and David explain, a sacrament is “an incarnational moment” where God acts on a supernatural level at the same that man acts on a material level. As two people are joined together in a marriage ceremony, God joins them together spiritually, giving weight to Jesus’ words, “What God has joined together, let no one separate.” Although physical separation is sometimes necessary and encouraged (for example, in the instance of spousal abuse), the Catholic Church does not recognize divorce. An annulment, which is the process of declaring a marriage “unlawful,” is the only option for a Catholic to have their marriage dissolved.
Listen in to this episode to hear David’s grace-filled advice for Catholics who are separated or divorced, and, of course, Adam and David engage in more wordplay.
Jump Through the Conversation
[0:31] Thoughts on unity and “catholicity”
[3:27] Opening thoughts on marriage and morality
[4:21] God’s creation of marriage
[6:59] Explanation of the sacraments
Example of baptism
Protestant view of the sacraments
Matter and form
[11:59] Sacrament vs covenant
[14:26] Why separation is accepted but divorce isn’t
[16:32] Conditions for annulments
[19:39] Matthew 5:32 and “sexual immorality”
Translation issues
Premarital intent to be unfaithful
Jesus’ amplification of Mosaic divorce
[25:34] Divorced Catholics
[25:53] How to live as someone who has been abandoned by a spouse
[27:40] Options for living as someone who has divorced and remarried
Links and Resources
A Beautiful Church website
Chattanooga House of Prayer website
David Carter’s ministry
The Gift of Self by Maria Pia Campanella
A resource of the Chattanooga House of Prayer