Recently, I traveled out-of-town to a major American city. Fortunately, there was a Catholic Church within walking distance from my hotel. One morning, I arrived just as Mass was starting and slipped into a side pew. I was struck by two things. First, the incredible beauty of the church. The painted ceilings, marble columns, and stained glass were magnificent and filled me with awe. Second, was the extreme diversity of the people. I was surrounded by rich people, poor people, old people, young people, professionals, blue-collar laborers, blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics – a real mishmash of people. Despite our differences, we were all sharing equally in God’s greatest expression of love for us: His Son fully present in the Eucharist.
This experience made me think about how God must view divorced Catholics. Each of us has our own story, our own experience, that makes us unique. Yet, God loves us all the same. He doesn’t distinguish between how long we were married, who was at fault, who was more committed to their marriage or their faith, or who suffered more. To Him, we all look the same, and we are all welcome in His House. Remember that the next time you feel a sense of shame about your divorce. We all belong to Him and His Church!
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. – 1 Corinthians 12:12
Originally posted 2014-12-18 06:00:56.
Vince,
The place that i feel the most shame about my divorce is at my church. I was baptized as in an infant in 1974 and have been catholic since, but these days I am caught up in what other people think about me being divorced. There are some people at church who obviously treat me different since my ex-wife and I split up.
I do not feel like a whole catholic because of my divorce. I began to look into an annulment, but stopped because of the immense red-tape I ran into by just inquiring about where to begin. I am a Military Veteran and I work for the Federal Government and there is enough red-tape in that without having to deal with it from the church.
Hang in there, Steve! I would encourage you to come to my online annulment workshop. That should give you an in-depth understanding of the annulment process and what you can do to eliminate much of the red tape. Look for an announcement soon.
Live Abundantly,
Vince
Hi Steve,
The annulment process is really one of the most healing steps of the Divorce. I agree the process seems lengthy at first but it is actually not as complicated as it looks.
Don’t get discourage! find a good experienced priest in canon law to help you and you will be on your way to a New Beginning.