Expert: David - 7/22/2009

Question
Hi David:
Would you kindly list the biblical references that require that catholics be married in the Church (in front of a priest) in order to be able to receive Holy Communion?
Thanks!

Answer
Catholics take scripture as the foundation for our beliefs but the written tradition and the oral traditions go together as a combined whole. In the written tradition i.e. scripture, Jesus Gave Peter and the apostles, and their successors the authority to administer the sacraments and decide how they are regulated, how they must be celebrated, and how they may be received. St. Paul directs people in Scripture to hold fast to the traditions they have received from the Apostles both in letter i.e. scripture and by word i.e. the oral teachings of the apostles and therefore the teachings of the Church. The scriptural principles give the apostles the authority to govern the celebration of the sacraments, and obedience to these rules is in some cases required for a valid sacrament. If you get married without a valid sacrament, then you are not married in the eyes of God and incur sin. Since Sexual sin is always grave matter, one should not receive communion until one's marriage is recognized by the Church as a valid sacramental union according to Church teaching