Prayer and Relationship with Christ
Formation
Accompaniment
Advocacy
A large number of Catholic marriages end in divorce. It is a tumultuous experience that creates a major upheaval in the family unit and in turn, affects the entire parish community. The Office of Family Life provides outreach, support and a caring presence during this difficult time. Our programs inform and educate persons on grieving, personal coping skills, Church teachings and annulments.
Select a topic to be taken to that section of the webpage:
Surviving Divorce: 12-Week Catholic Course
Bi-Monthly Support Groups
Beginning Experience of the Hudson Valley
Leadership Training
FAQ
Surviving Divorce: 12-Week Catholic Course
This course was created to bring hope and healing to divorced and separated Catholics. With the help of counselors, theologians, and priests, you can go from pain and loneliness to hope and healing. Practical advice meets pastoral care, with the help of experts and others who have suffered through divorce. As they witness to their pain and to the redemptive power of Christ, you will laugh, cry, and identify with their journey from heartache to healing.
For more information, contact Carmen Noschese, MS MFT at 646-794-3194.
Bi-Monthly Support Groups
The Ministry to the Separated and Divorced offers outreach, support and a caring presence during this difficult and stressful time. We inform and educate persons about the grieving process, personal coping skills, Church teachings, and information regarding annulments through ongoing, bi-monthly support groups within a Catholic environment. Each group meets for an hour and a half. Group sessions allow participants to vent, receive support related to any ongoing crises, and participate in the topic of discussion for that day.
Topics covered in group sessions include:
- Loss and the grieving process
- Group dynamics and process
- Domestic violence
- Parenting during a divorce
- Catholic teaching on divorce, and annulments
Support groups are designed to foster: a supportive atmosphere that enables participants to recognize and activate their own talents, capabilities and untapped potential; personal growth and spiritual development; and improved self-confidence and self-esteem.
St. Benedict Church
2969 Otis Avenue
Bronx, N.Y. 10465
Bi-lingual group meets virtually on every 3rd Thursday from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. For further information, contact Rose Mary at 718-213-6847.
St. Mary Mother of the Church
103 Jackson Street (Parish Center)
Fishkill, N.Y. 12524
For more information, contact Kathy at 845-546-0268 or [email protected].
Church of St. Paul the Apostle
415 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10023
Group Info
Group meets [virtually] every 2nd and 4th Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, contact Jane at 646-794-3194 or [email protected].
St. Thomas More
65 East 89th Street
New York, NY 10128
Group Info
Group meets [virtually] every 1st and 3rd Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more information, contact Jane at 212-876-7718, or [email protected]
Church of St. John the Evangelist
71 Murray Avenue
Goshen, NY 10924
Group Info
Group meets [virtually] every Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information, call Helen at 845-325-0719.
Church of St. James the Apostle
16 Gleneida Avenue
Carmel, NY 10512
Group Info
Group meets every 1st and 3rd Friday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Parish House. For more information, contact Pat at 845-225-2079.
Church of St. Francis of Assisi
128 Parrot Road
West Nyack, NY 10994
Group Info
For more information, call Sr. Pat at 845-634-4957.
St. Ann’s Church
101 Cromwell Avenue
Staten Island, New York 10304
Group Info
Group meets on Tuesday, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. For more information, contact Anne-Louise at 347-282-9118 or [email protected].
There are no groups in this county at this time. For more information, or to begin a group, contact Carmen Noschese at 646-794-3194 or [email protected].
There are no groups in this county at this time. For more information, or to begin a group, contact Carmen Noschese at 646-794-3194 or [email protected].
St. Augustine Church
18 Cherry Avenue
Larchmont, NY 10538
Group Info
For more information, contact Ann at 914-834-1220 or [email protected].
St. Augustine Church
381 No. Highland Avenue
Ossining, NY 10562
Group Info
For information on this group, contact Carmen Noschese at (646) 794-3194 or [email protected].
Beginning Experience of the Hudson Valley
Beginning Experience of the Hudson Valley is a peer-led support ministry.
We are dedicated to helping people who are grieving the end of a spousal relationship through death, divorce, or separation.
We invite you to browse our website and hope that you will consider attending a Beginning Experience healing program, whether in-person or remote. You may also contact us anytime.
Leadership Training
Group Leadership Training is offered to prepare caring participants to assume leadership positions in this ministry. People from all ethnicities, cultures and neighborhoods with personal experience of divorce, or sensitivity to divorce issues, are encouraged to apply, as are professional counselors or social workers. Training provides step-by-step instruction and all the knowledge and skills needed to implement this program in local parish communities.
Participants will learn:
- Communication skills
- Listening skills
- Relaxation and meditation skills
For questions about upcoming training or other volunteer opportunities, please contact Carmen Noschese at (646) 794-3194.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a common mistake to think a divorced person can never receive communion. A divorce, in itself, does not preclude a person from receiving communion. Jesus Christ calls all people to Himself, and through conversion and renewal of mind and heart (cf. Romans 12:2), we encounter the risen Lord anew. The ability of a divorced person to receive communion depends on several factors, addressed in questions below. Ultimately, the ability to present oneself for communion should be determined in consultation with one’s pastor.
A divorce, in itself, is an evil that introduces disorder into the family and society. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “This disorder [divorce] brings grave harm to the [spouses], to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society” (CCC #2385). If one spouse is responsible for the breakup of the marriage, he or she must, with contrition, repent and seek forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation before presenting oneself for holy communion. A spouse innocent of the actual breakup has not transgressed moral law and is not precluded from receiving communion because of the divorce itself. The distinction between these states is summarized by the Catechism: “There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage” (CCC #2386).
From the beginning, God created marriage to last. Jesus Christ reclaims this intention for His Church and the New Law (cf. Matthew 5:31-32). The Catechism explains, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble …Between the baptized, ‘a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death’” (CCC #2382).
Because of the indissolubility of marriage, remarried persons who are divorced from a previously valid marriage cannot present themselves for communion. Even should a civilly remarried person resolve their own conscience of the previous marriage, the previous marriage remains a public reality. A letter to the world’s bishops from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1994 explains:
“The mistaken conviction of a divorced-and-remarried person that he may receive holy communion normally presupposes that personal conscience is considered in the final analysis to be able, on the basis of one’s own convictions, to come to a decision about the existence or absence of a previous marriage and the value of the new union. However, such a position is inadmissible. Marriage, in fact, both because it is the image of the spousal relationship between Christ and his church as well as the fundamental core and an important factor in the life of civil society, is essentially a public reality.”
A divorced person who has civilly remarried and has a sincere desire to receive communion should consult with his/her pastor. While no act of reverence or piety replaces the unity achieved with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, divorced persons who have civilly remarried may choose to receive a simple blessing from a priest at the time of communion or pray for the graces of “spiritual communion” with Jesus Christ during this time.
God calls all persons to Himself (cf. Matthew 11:28, John 17:22). The celebration of Mass prefigures the wedding banquet awaiting all who hope in salvation won by Jesus Christ. Those who cannot receive communion are still warmly welcomed to participate in Mass where they are nourished by the Word of God and receive the graces inherent through the communal prayer of its liturgical worship. The parish is a home for all people who, together, hope in Jesus Christ and eternal life with Him.
When a divorced person remarries civilly and bears children in the remarriage, thereby obligating himself/herself to raising the children, though the civil remarriage remains an illicit union requiring repentance and conversion, the persons in the remarriage may receive communion while remaining together if both of the following are satisfied: (1) Their pastor judges that scandal can be avoided (i.e., the public is unaware that one or both is divorced), and (2) they live together as “brother and sister” abstaining from sexual relations. If either of these cannot be fulfilled, they should refrain from presenting themselves for receiving communion.