Question 273
Hello Father, I have a few questions:
1. On the Blessed Trinity: The Nicene Creed states, “I believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son” and yet the Trinity is one. The Blessed Trinity is the beginning and the end. Why is it that in the Nicene Creed it almost seems like the Holy Spirit comes after the Father and the Son? Am I looking at this incorrectly?
2. On Confession: Is it a requirement for the priest to wear a stole?
3. On Marriage: If a Catholic woman/man weds a non-Catholic in a non-Catholic service, does the Church view that as a valid marriage?
Response
About the Trinity…
There are three eternal relations or generations or processions in the Trinity. The Father in knowing himself generates the eternal Word or the Son. Between the Father and the Son and the Son and the Father is an infinite goodwill or love in which they generate the Holy Spirit. There is no before or after. God exists outside time in an eternal present. “God is one divine substance in three divine Persons.” None of this is created; rather, it is simply what God is.
About Confession…
The priest is directed to wear a stole but in a necessity the priest can absolve sins without one.
About Marriage…
The Catholic party is bound to the Church’s laws of marriage. The Catholic Church has rightful jurisdiction over her seven sacraments, including matrimony. It is best that Catholics marry Catholics. A Catholic marriage must be witnessed before a priest or deacon. Marriages outside the Church (lacking a dispensation from canonical form) are invalid and illicit. The only exception is if a marriage takes place in an Orthodox (Eastern) Church. Such a marriage would be valid but illicit.
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