A marriage can only be concluded in the absence of all impediments to it. The impediments may be such as nullify marriage, or such as render it unlawful. Those that render marriage null or invalid, are: Coercion, defect of age, consanguinity, and affinity, a previous marriage tie still existing, the greater degrees of Holy Orders, solemn vows, the prohibition concerning the marriage of Catholics with unbaptized persons.The impediments that render marriage unlawful, are: The prohibition in regard to certain times, diversity of religious belief, betrothal, simple vows, complete ignorance of religious truth.Impediments of a purely civil nature, such as minority, military service, recent widowhood.The ecclesiastical authorities are accustomed to dispense from matrimonial impediments where good reasons exist; the secular authorities do likewise.If a marriage to which any impediment rendering it invalid exists, should have been contracted, it must either be dissolved, or the impediment must be removed by means of a dispensation, and the ceremony performed over again.Marriage must be preceded by betrothal, by the publication of the banns, and by the reception of the Sacraments of Penance and of the Altar.Betrothal consists in this: An unmarried man and an unmarried woman, after due reflection, pledge their troth to one another, promising each to marry the other at the time agreed upon between them.The publication of banns is as follows: The names of the contracting parties between whom the marriage is to be concluded, shall be announced publicly three times in the parish church during the solemnization of Mass on three successive Sundays or festival days (Council of Trent, 24, 1).It is also enjoined on persons intending to marry to approach the Sacraments of Penance and of the Altar, because it is indispensable that they should be in a. state of grace, in order to participate in the graces conferred in the Sacrament of Matrimony.The Church expressly commands that the marriage be concluded in the presence of the priest of the parish, and two witnesses; or the parish priest may authorize another priest to act in his place.Marriages are, as a rule, celebrated in the forenoon, in the house of God, with solemn ceremonies, and Mass is usually said at the time. Please subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuBq5NsNkT5lVceFchZTtg Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-uncensored-catholic--5855002/support. Read about my new book: A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass readings January-June, 2026: Caroll, Judson: 9798242070172: Amazon.com: Books My substack newsletter for The Uncensored Catholic is: https://judsonc.substack.com/ Missio Dei's site is: https://www.missiodeicatholic.org/ Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/05/confirmation-autobiography-of-faith.html Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
