A practising Catholic will be marrying a non-practicing Catholic (who may not believe in God anymore) in the Catholic Church. Can they have a Nuptial Mass with the non-practicing Catholic not receiving Communion? Since sacraments should be received in a state of grace, and the non-practicing one obviously is not in such a state, what does it mean for the non-practicing one to receive the sacrament in that state? Will the non-practicing Catholic still receive the grace of Matrimony?
This question is one of the several reasons why the Catholic Church stipulates an extended period of time for marriage preparation, typically one year before the wedding day. The first step for the couple to take is not to shop for banquet halls or churches or exotic locations, but to sit down with their pastor so he can assess their needs.
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