f t W i ( i "8 
Mvxed r t tTfiooe. . . 

A \ > 3 SH 

Mixtò 
ü a r n a g e 

Outlines for Instructors 

by 
Rev. Benjamin F. Bowling, C.S.P. 

THE P A U L I S T PRESS 
401 West 59th Street 
New York 19, N. Y. 





ARCHBISHOP'S HOUSE 
408 North Charles Street 

Baltimore 1, Maryland 

October 19, 1954. 

Dear Father, 

In the hope that the following out-
lines of six instructions prepared by 
the Reverend Benjamin F. Bowling, 
C.S.P. may be of some assistance to 
you who, I realize, are frequently 
called upon to prepare a non-Cath-
olic for marriage with a Catholic, 
I have had them printed for your 
reference. 

As an appendix to these outlines, 
I have added the regulations which 
are to be observed in the Archdiocese 
of Baltimore in the celebration of a 
marriage between a non-Catholic and 
a Catholic. These modifications of 
previous custom have been adopted to 
emphasize the religious character of 
marriage. It xvould be disastrous if 
our Catholic people were to assume 
that they represent any mitigation of 
the attitude of the Church expressed 
in Canon 1060 which in establishing 



the impediment of Mixed Religion 
"most strictly and everywhere forbids 
marriages between a Catholic and a 
person enrolled in an heretical or 
schismatic sect." 

I have complete confidence that in 
the observance of these regulations, 
you will avoid this danger while 
achieving the purpose intended. 

With every good wish and with a 
blessing, I am 

Sincerely yours in Christ, 

2 



O U T L I N E OF S IX 

I N S T R U C T I O N S FOR M I X E D 

MARRIAGES 

REV. BENJAMIN F . BOWLING, C . S . P . 

A few practical instructions to be 
developed or modified by the in-
dividual priest according to cir-
cumstances. 

List of Instructions 

1. Purpose of Instructions - Promises -
God - Christ - Church - Faith. 2. Creation -
Grace - Fall - Cross - Sacraments in Gen-
eral - Baptism. 3. Confession - Command-
ments. 4. Blessed Sacrament - Mass - Holy 
Communion. 5. Marriage - Divorce - Birth 
Control - Mixed Marriage - Conditions. 6. 
Externals of Church - Saints - B.V.M. -
Suggestions for Happy Marriage - Read 
Marriage Ceremony. 



Imprimi Potest: 

VERY REV. WILLIAM A . MICHELL, C . S . P . , 

Superior General. 

Nihil Obstat: 

REV. EDWARD A . CERNY, S S . , S . T . D . , 

Censor Librorum. 

Imprimatur: 

© FRANCIS P . KEOUGH, D . D . , 

Archiepiscopus Baltimorensis. 

Baltimorae die 15 Octobris 1954. 

4 



Introduction 

First Visit: A kindly reception of 
the non-Catholic party. It may be 
his or her first visit to a Catholic 
priest or rectory. First impressions 
often make or mar the instructions 
to follow. While the perils of mixed 
marriage should be often stressed in 
the pulpit and presented to the young 
couple in a kindly constructive spirit, 
a tirade on the subject when they 
actually come to arrange for mixed 
marriage generally does more harm 
than good. What is said to the Cath-
olic party is generally relayed to the 
Protestant and many of them who 
until this point were favorably dis-
posed have been embittered and have 
turned away from the Church. 

From a long experience we find it 
is best to stress the wisdom and pur-
pose of the instructions to give the 
non-Catholic party a better under-
standing of the obligations he as-
sumes in marrying a Catholic. It is 
only fair to him, to his Catholic part-
ner, and their future children, that 
he thoroughly understands the prom-
ises before signing them. Explain 
that there is no obligation of any kind 

5 



in taking the instructions, and that 
he is free to ask questions at any 
time. Urge both parties to pray 
earnestly—that God will guide and 
direct them and bless their marriage. 

First Instruction 

Existence of God: Necessity for 
First Cause, Who possesses in a per-
fect way all perfections given to crea-
tures in a degree. Hence, "Infinite 
Life" (Father), "Infinite Truth" 
(Son), "Infinite Love" (Holy Ghost). 
The Trinity. 

Creation: God sharing His happir 
ness with creatures. Evolution— 
progression from lower to higher 
forms of life according to Law. Evo-
lution, therefore, demands a Supreme 
Being and direct creation of first 
spark of life and first atom of mat-
ter. Man's soul direct creation of 
God. The Fall. Promise of Redemp-
tion. Chosen People. 

Divinity of Christ: (1) Fulfillment 
of prophecy. (2) His direct claims 
to be Divine. (3) Miracles by His 
own power and His own name. (4) 
The Resurrection—Jesus Christ True 
God and True Man. 

6 



Summary: Therefore, God gives Di-
vine Revelation through Jesus Christ. 

Church: Stress the point that just 
as God taught, forgave and gave His 
Divine Graces through Christ, so 
Christ teaches, forgives and gives His 
Divine Graces through the Church. 
The Church a long distance telephone 
through which Christ speaks in every 
age. "He who hears you, hears Me." 
Reasonableness that Christ left an 
Infallible Guide to His teaching even 
as the Founding Fathers left a Su-
preme Court to interpret the Consti-
tution. Develop parallel. The Church, 
therefore, not a human and arbitrary 
dictator, but a Divine Supreme Court, 
through which Christ still teaches, 
still forgives, still gives His Divine 
Life. Petrine Texts. Use charts to 
show history of Church from begin-
ning through Reformation. 

Reformation: Admit scandals in 
Church as there were among the 
Apostles. Christ guaranteed the teach-
ing, not the conduct, of His followers. 
The Reformation throw out the Su-
preme Court of the Church and sub-
stituted opinions for dogmas, and 
for the Divine Compass of Infallibil-
ity, the weather vane of private in-

7 



terpretation. The sad result: over 
250 conflicting Christian churches 
today differing on fundamental prin-
ciples. Explain: Outside the Church, 
no salvation for those who know it 
true and deliberately reject it. No 
one will be lost except through his 
own grave, willful, unrepented sin. 
Stress the freedom of authority. The 
Church gives us a well-marked spir-
itual highway lined with "spiritual 
filling stations" (the Sacraments) 
along the way. Any church claiming 
to be church Christ established must 
(1) by force of logic be able to trace 
its history in unbroken line straight 
back to Christ, (2) give one united 
system of teachings and Sacraments 
throughout the world. Therefore, only 
one. Stress, however, that each 
Church that broke off from the 
Mother Church took many beautiful 
doctrines with them. Unfortunately, 
they also left many beautiful teach-
ings and help behind them. The 
Church builds on the beautiful truths 
in your own Faith and puts them 
back in the original setting whence 
they were taken at the time of the 
Reformation. 

8 



Second Instruction 

Grace—Sacraments in general: 
Baptism: God gave divine life of 

Grace to Adam and Eve. Lost by the 
Fall. Original Sin. (Example: Father 
gambles away his wealth. Children 
come into world not with sin of gam-
bling but without his fortune. So 
Adam and Eve lost the life of Divine 
Grace for us.) 

Divine Life could only be restored 
by God. Yet since man sinned, man 
should atone, but atonement had to 
be Divine. Hence Redemption. 

Diagram: Divine Grace given to 
Adam and Eve, lost by original sin, 
restored by Jesus Christ dying on the 
Cross and stored up in the super-
natural reservoir of Church. Sacra-
ments: Seven Divine channels bring-
ing Grace to soul of men. Parallel of 
Sacraments with stages in life: birth 
and Baptism, growth and Confirma-
tion, hospitals and Confession, food 
and Lord's Supper, leaders and Holy 
Orders (Mayor, Governor, President 
and Supreme Court compared to 
Priests, Bishops and Pope, the Su-
preme Court of Church. Neither Su-
preme Court can make new teachings 

9 



or laws but only clarifies the applica-
tion of same in every age.) Marriage 
(civil) and Matrimony (Sacrament). 
Doctors at death—Extreme Unction. 
Sacraments give Grace directly. 
Amount of Grace depends on indi-
vidual's dispositions and God's Will. 

Ceremonies of Baptism. Wonder 
of its effects. We give them Natural 
Life at once in Birth. We give them 
supernatural life at once in Baptism. 
(Develop) Highlights of ceremonies 
in Baptism. Why Catholic sponsors. 
Wonder of Grace in soul after Bap-
tism. Stress wisdom of sending chil-
dren to schools which give God and 
Religion an even break with the three 
R's. . . . Make it four R's instead 
of three! 

Third Instruction 

Confession—Sacrament of Penance. 
Christ forgave sins. Gave this 

power to the Apostles after Resur-
rection. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost, 
whose sins you shall forgive. . . ." 
Just as He gave Apostles the power 
to baptize (give Divine Life) so He 
gives them the power to restore Di-
vine Life. This answers objections 

10 



why not go direct to God. What right 
has man to forgive sins? Answer: 
As a delegate of Christ. 

Popular Objections: "All a Cath-
olic has to do is to go to Confession 
and then he can do what he likes!" 
Ansiver: A Catholic has to do every-
thing a non-Catholic has to do to have 
his sins forgiven and a little bit more! 
(1) Examination of Conscience. (2) 
Sorrow for Past (Stress Cross). (3) 
Firm purpose of amendment (Avoid 
setups). (4) Actual Confession 
(Stress advice and guidance). (5) 
Penance. Compare Catholics who go 
regularly to Confession vs. those who 
do not. Give highlights of Ten Com-
mandments and the comfort and 
strength which Confession gives to 
millions. (Stories). Non-Catholics 
find this one of the most interesting 
lectures. 

Fourth Instruction 

The Blessed Sacrament and the 
Mass. 

As Christ hid His Divinity in the 
form of the Christ Child at Bethle-
hem, so He hid both His Divinity and 
Humanity in the form of the Blessed 

l l 



Sacrament at the Last Supper. If 
God gives to us the power of trans-
forming bread and wine into the 
substance of our own body and blood 
indirectly through the laws of diges-
tion, why cannot He change bread 
and wine into His own Body and Blood 
directly? He said so. And this was 
the belief of the whole Christian 
world until the Reformation. The 
wonder of Bethlehem reflected in the 
Tabernacles of the world. Its con-
solation to Catholics throughout the 
world. 

The Sacrifices of the Old Law were 
fulfilled in the Perfect Sacrifice of 
Christ on Calvary; and which is per-
petuated in all the Masses of the 
World. One sun shines in the heavens 
and is reflected in all the windows 
of the world. One Son of God offers 
His complete and perfect Sacrifice on 
Calvary which shines through and is 
perpetuated on all the altars of the 
world. Holy Communion is God's per-
fect Gift to us. Holy Mass is our 
perfect Gift to God. God gives us 
twenty-four hours a day, one hundred 
and sixty-eight hours a week. It is 
fitting that we return one hour of di-

12 



vine worship to Him each Sunday, in 
keeping with His Divine command 
to keep holy the Sabbath Day. 

Outline of the Mass: At the Last 
Supper, Christ did three things. He 
offered bread and wine to His Heav-
enly Father—the Offertory of the 
first Mass; He changed bread and 
wine into His own Body and Blood— 
The Consecration of the first Mass; 
and He gave to His followers—the 
Communion of the first Mass. Beau-
tiful ceremonies grouped themselves 
around each of these parts, and gave 
us the Mass as we have it today. 
Latin. Vestments. Offering Mass for 
loved ones and for special intentions. 
Illustrated booklets, like the "Mass 
Visible" or Mass Slides are a great 
help. The booklets, "The Mass" 
(Paulist Press) and "I See the Mass" 
(Queens Work), are liked by most 
converts as an introduction to the 
Mass. Encourage non-Catholics to 
attend Mass with their Catholic 
friends and pray for the gift of Faith 
in ALL of God's Divine Truths. 

Explain how Catholics, believing 
the Mass to be the Divine Form of 
Worship left by Christ, cannot con-
sistently participate in non-Catholic 

13 



services. They may, however, attend 
non-Catholic weddings (valid) and 
funerals as a courtesy to their non-
Catholic friends. Note: Faith of Our 
Fathers, by Gibbons, is excellent on 
Mass and Blessed Sacrament. 

Fifth Instruction 

Marriage (1) A Sacrament; (2) 
For Life; (3) For Children; (4) 
Mixed Marriages. 

(1) Marriage not only a civil con-
tract over which state has certain 
rights; (e. g., license, blood tests, etc.) 
but also a Christian Sacrament over 
which the Church has certain rights. 
Hence, whenever a Catholic is con-
cerned (whether two Catholics or a 
Catholic and a non-Catholic) there 
must be a Catholic Priest and two 
witnesses. Just as a Catholic may 
not go to the Judge or Minister for 
any other Sacrament, e.g., Confes-
sion or Confirmation, so he may not 
go to them for the Sacrament of Mar-
riage. _ {Note: Stress fact that non-
Catholic marriages among themselves 
are generally acknowledged by the 
Church providing both parties are 
free to marry.) As a sacrament mar-

14 



riage gives Divine helps to be true 
to God, to each other and to children 
(Develop). 

(2) Marriage is for Life. There-
fore no divorce with remarriage after 
a valid marriage. Therefore no mar-
riage can take place by Catholic 
Priest unless both parties understand 
and promise this in writing before 
ceremony. Correct popular miscon-
ceptions on divorce and remarriage in 
Catholic Church. Contrast loyalty to 
one's country regardless of sacrifice 
and loyalty to one's marriage vow. 
Read: "I take thee for better or 
worse . . . in sickness or in health . . . 
until death do us part!" Develop. 

(3) Marriage is for Children. 
Therefore no artificial Birth Control. 
Birth Control is misuse of a faculty, 
like lying, gluttony or drunkenness; 
therefore, a sin against nature. 
Rhythm is taking advantage of breaks 
that nature gives you (and that only 
for a good reason). Birth Control is 
breaking nature. Objection: "But 
the end is the same in both rhythm 
and birth control; therefore what's 
the difference?" Answer: "End is 
same in a savings account and bank 
robbery — what's the difference?" 

15 



Stress: Church does not say you have 
to have a child every nine months and 
five minutes, but she does stress 
sacredness of children. The child for 
which you have to sacrifice the most 
may be the child who will be your 
greatest joy. Examples—perhaps in 
your own family. 

(4) Mixed Marriages. Review in-
troduction to first instruction. Every 
Minister, Priest and Rabbi urges 
whenever possible unity of Faith in 
marriage. That is the ideal. Father, 
Mother, Children all united in same 
Faith. (Develop) Catholic Church 
has a special precept against mixed 
marriages. But mixed marriages in 
a mixed population like the United 
States of America are often inevit-
able. And sometimes they are not a 
bad mixture! (Smile!) But we say 
—face issues fairly and squarely be-
forehand. Hence the Six Instructions 
now required to give the non-Cath-
olic a better understanding of obliga-
tions assumed in marrying a Cath-
olic. The Instructions are also help-
ful in giving the Catholic a review 
of his Faith and a deeper apprecia-
tion of his obligations in a mixed 
marriage. 

16 



Sixth Instruction 

Sacramentáis, Tour of Church, 
Varia. Sign of Cross, Holy Water, 
Genuflections. Medals. Devotion to 
Blessed Virgin Mary (stress). Purga-
tory, Prayers for Dead. At the Wed-
ding rehearsal in church (try to 
have one—even for very small wed-
dings; it puts the non-Catholic more 
at ease), there is an excellent oppor-
tunity to explain and show the 
Confessional, Sanctuary Lamp, etc. 
Genuflections in honor of Our Lord's 
Real Presence, Non-Catholic •, may 
genuflect to God in general as. a cour-
tesy to their Catholic friend. On en-
tering the church, if the Priest low-
ers his voice and explains this 
reverence to Our Lord, Real Presence, 
non-Catholics are generally most 
reverent. The Eucharistic Fast. The 
laws of Fast and Abstinence and the 
reasons for then}. 

17 



R E A D I N G M A T T E R 

HELPFUL PAMPHLETS : I Believe In 
God, by McGinn; Divinity of Christ, 
by Gillis; Eve of Marriage, by Ber-
ger (General) ; Why Not A Mixed 
Marriage (Objections and Dangers), 
by O'Brien; Shall We Have Children, 
Baltimore Panel, by Dr. Galvin, Fr. 
Connell, et al; The Mass, small but 
well liked by non-Catholics; all by 
Paulist Press, 401 W. 59th St., 
N. Y. C. Finding Christ's Church, by 
O'Brien, Ave Maria Press, Notre 
Dame, Ind., is excellent, complete with 
charts, dates, etc. What You Should 
Know About Catholics, by Fr. Wade, 
small but excellent summary of ob-
jections against the Church, 1005 
N. E. 16th St., Oklahoma City, Okla. 
Chart of Churches, by Markoe, Vin-
centian Press, St. Louis. 

BOOKS: Sharing the Faith, by Fr. 
O'Brien, Our Sunday Visitor Press, 
gives suggestions of some thirty 
Bishops and Priests on convert work. 
In Chapter 12 there is a fairly com-
plete answer to most of the objections 
to signing the promises in mixed 
marriages. Now I see, by Lunn; Re-
building a Lost Faith, by Stoddard; 

18 



The Faith of Our Fathers, by Gib-
bons; Fr. O'Brien's convert stories, 
The Road to Damascus; The Meaning 
of Life and Marriage by Baron von 
Gagern, M.D., are all excellent and 
helpful references for different types 
of converts. 

Suggestions For a Happy 

Marriage (Develop) 

1. Keep little things little and big 
things big. Happy couples strive for 
unity in fundamental principles; in 
non-fundamentals, liberty. In all 
things—charity. Good cooking and 
housekeeping aid domestic peace. 

2. Live within your means. Don't 
get used to two salaries for two and 
have to drop back to one salary for 
three. Beware of charge accounts. 

3. When possible park your home 
far from both mothers. In-laws often 
become out-laws. Visit often, but 
don't bind yourself to regular visits. 

4. Pick the right time, the right 
place and the right way to make cor-
rections. Strive always for the posi-
tive, tactful approach. 

5. Show appreciation for little 

19 



things. Take nothing for granted. 
Wives especially center life on the 
little things that men forget. 

6. Remember marriage is a part-
nership, not a dictatorship. Individual 
personality and God. Mutual thought-
fulness. Love too often becomes a 
tyranny. 

7. Remember dates and anniversa-
ries. They are important. 

8. Frankness and open-ness on both 
sides. Don't hoard grievances. Get 
them off your chest, but, watch your 
"timing"! 

9. What happens at home keep at 
home; otherwise it generally comes 
back in garbled form. Be friendly 
but reserved with neighbors. 

10. Watch drinking and gambling. 
These two habits alone have marred 
countless homes. (Examples.) 

11. Choose your friends carefully, 
when inviting them to your home. 
They can make or break a marriage. 

12. Recreation money. Get out at 
times regularly—just the two of you. 

13. Have your children early, and 
find time for them. This is the real 
happiness of marriage. 

20 



14. Religion can become a bond or 
a barrier. Unity of Faith is the 
Christian ideal. Pray together and 
attend Mass together often. The 
Christian Home! 

15. Stress the obligation of sending 
the children to Catholic School if pos-
sible where God, Our Lord, and the 
precious teaching of Christianity will 
have an equal place with their ABC's. 
Religion, like the love of Father and 
Mother, is not something to be lim-
ited to one dry Sunday School lesson 
each week, but should be interwoven 
all through their little lives. Urge a 
visit to the first grade room of a 
Catholic school some Sunday after-
noon, getting the teacher in charge 
to explain the pattern of her instruc-
tions. This will do more good to break 
down prejudice against Catholic edu-
cation than anything else. 
. Read slowly our Marriage Cere-

mony. Urge a complete course of in-
structions later on. 

21 



OBJECTIONS 

I. 

Objections against the promises 
are often raised. Admit frankly that 
the promises do seem at first to be 
one-sided and unfair. One priest 
startled the non-Catholic party, not 
to mention the Catholic by saying, 
"Personally, I wouldn't sign those 
promises if I were you!" And then 
he added with a smile, "Unless I knew 
what I was signing. That's what the 
instructions are for." 

II. 
"But I don't want to be a Catholic." 
"Of course you don't. I wouldn't 

either if I knew as little about it as— 
e-r-ahem—some people do! But, re-
member you are marrying a Catholic, 
and sooner or later Junior or Sister 
is going to ask you some very em-
barrassing questions. Wouldn't it be 
wise to know something about Cath-
olic teaching just to save face with 
your own children ? This will be espe-
cially true with the mother, who will 
get most of the questions." 

22 



I I I . 
"But I had religion forced down 

my throat as a child, and I'm not 
going to do that with my children. 

"I don't blame you. I wouldn't 
either. Why not make it as beautiful 
and lovely and attractive as every-
thing else you teach them ? Surely 
the love of God and the teachings of 
Our Lord have great possibilities." 

IV. 
f "But why not let them grow up 

and choose their own religion?" 
"By the same token, why not let 

them grow up and choose their own 
manners, their own ABC's, their own 
version of the three R's? Don't you 
see that just as you give them nat-
ural truth as early and as attractively 
as possible, so you should give them 
supernatural truth? 

Children who have been allowed to 
grow up and choose their own reli-
gion, generally choose none, as is at-
tested by the millions of Americans 
not affiliated with any Church." 

V. 
"But why the Catholic religion?" 
"That's what we'd love to explain 

23 



to you in a course of instructions! 
Then you can ask all the questions 
you wish and clear up popular mis-
conception on so many points. 

"Briefly the reason is this: If you 
believe that Jesus Christ is really and 
truly God, and that He founded one 
true Church and gave that Church 
certain divine teachings, and certain 
divine helps, you would want your 
children to have them, wouldn't you." 

"Well, yes if I believed that." 
"Well, your Catholic friend here 

does believe just that. Hence one of 
a Catholic's most sacred obligations 
is to give this divine spiritual inherit-
ance left by Christ, to his children as 
early as possible." 

VI. 

"But why do I have to sign the 
promises ?" 

"Simply as an evidence of the same 
good faith you show when you sign 
for your marriage license! Through 
the years, Mother Church has found 
that some couples were taking the 
promises too lightly and were forget-
ting about them afterwards. There-
fore to impress upon the minds of 

24 



persons marrying Catholics the sacred 
responsibilities of giving: children 
their spiritual inheritance, she now 
asks both Catholics and non-Catholics 
to sign the papers." 

VII . 
"If I marry a Catholic will I be 

bound by the no-meat law on Friday?" 
"No. However, Catholics make 

this little sacrifice of meat on Friday 
in memory of Christ's Great Sacri-
fice on Good Friday, and most non-
Catholics are happy to co-operate. 
And for the sake of peace in the fam-
ily, Brother, you'd better eat that 
fish!" 

VI I I . 
Another point, "Why can't we have 

a double marriage ceremony—one in 
the Catholic Church, and one in 
mine?" 

"For the simple reason that with 
us marriage is a Sacrament, just as 
sacred as Baptism or Confession or 
Holy Communion. Now you can 
readily see why Catholics couldn't 
consistently go to a Minister or Judge 
for the Sacrament of Confession or 
Holy Communion; so neither can they 

25 



consistently go to the Minister or 
Judge for the Sacrament of Marriage. 
It would be a denial of their faith." 

"But you ask ME to come to your 
Church." 

"Yes, because you believe that you 
would be validly married in any 
Church. Therefore, you are not 
breaking any fundamental principle 
by being married in a Catholic 
Church. Naturally you would have a 
preference for your own Church, so 
you are asked to sacrifice a preference 
by being married in a Catholic 
Church, rather than ask the Catholic 
to sacrifice a fundamental principle 
by being married in yours. And I am 
sure you wouldn't want that." 

IX. 

"No, but why can't she worship in 
my Church once in a while after we 
are married? I go to hers." 

"Don't you see it's the same funda-
mental principle at stake? If you be-
lieved that Our Lord established the 
divine form of worship at the Last 
Supper and continues it today in the 
Mass, could you consistently partic-
ipate in what you consider a purely 

26 



human service, established by those 
who broke off from the one true 
Church?" 

X. 

"No, but I don't believe that. I be-
lieve that one religion is as good as 
another." 

"Good, so you are free to worship 
in a Catholic Church without any 
violation of principle. Your friend on 
the contrary believes that Our Lord 
established the Mass through the last 
Supper as the one true form of di-
vine worship, and hence cannot ac-
tively participate in any other form 
of worship. Catholics may and do 
attend non-Catholic funerals and wed-
dings, however, as a courtesy to their 
friends or relatives."' 

XI . 

"Well, suppose I do believe my 
Church is the one true religion estab-
lished by God and that all others are 
false. How could I then make the 
Catholic promises in Marriage?" 

"You couldn't in that case, and you 
should take the same stand as the 
Catholic does about his religion. 

27 



Some time ago, a non-Catholic going 
with a Catholic, did take this very-
stand, and said he believed his Church 
was the one true Church." 

"What happened?" 
"Well, they finally agreed to dis-

agree, agreeably—and went their re-
spective ways." 

"So you believe in a non-Catholic 
being true to his own principles?" 

"Of course. The Catholic Church 
teaches that everyone is bound in con-
science to follow his principles. He 
is also bound, however, to make 
reasonably sure that his principles 
are in accord with God's divine rev-
elations. The course of instructions 
that you are asked to take will show 
you again and again how the prin-
ciples and teachings of the Catholic 
Church are in complete accord with 
Christian revelation, and, hence, are 
fair and reasonable in every respect." 

Discussions similar to the above, 
conducted in a friendly spirit, gen-
erally help most non-Catholics to see 
the wisdom of taking the instructions 
which in a large number of cases, 
lead to the gift of faith. 

28 



APPENDIX 

Directions for the Celebration of 
Marriage Between a Catholic and 
a Non-Catholic in the Archdiocese 

of Baltimore 

1. At least six instructions are to 
be given in the fundamentals of the 
Catholic Faith including at least one 
instruction on the Sacrament of 
Matrimony and the obligations under-
taken by a non-Catholic in contract-
ing marriage with a Catholic. 

2. Marriages between Catholics 
and non-Catholics are to take place 
in the church. Except in the case of 
validations any departure from this 
rule must be sanctioned by the Chan-
cery Office. 

3. The formulae and ceremonies of 
marriage including the use of sur-
plice and stole as prescribed in the 
Roman Ritual for two Catholics are 
to be used with the sole exception of 
sprinkling the parties with holy water. 

4. The marriage must take place 
at the altar rail, so that in no cir-
cumstance may the parties be ad-
mitted to the Sanctuary. 

29 



5. In accord with Canon 1102, 
Paragraph 2, marriage between a 
Catholic and a non-Catholic may 
never take place in connection with 
Holy Mass nor may the Nuptial Bless-
ing be given. 

6. The organ may be played and 
only Catholic hymns may be sung in 
connection with the ceremony. 

7. Two candles may be lighted on 
the altar which may be decorated with 
flowers. 

8. Permission for the bride to ded-
icate her bouquet to the Blessed 
Mother and the manner in which this 
may be done is left to the prudent 
judgment of the Pastor. 

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