The mission of this podcast is to highlight the beauty and diversity of God’s Church – both in Chattanooga and the Church at large.

What’s the difference between divorce and annulment? And what does it mean for marriage to be a sacrament? Adam and David answer these questions and more as they discuss how the Catholic Church handles marriage and separation. 

If you want to understand the Catholic perspective of marriage, you have to understand sacraments. As Adam and David explain, a sacrament is “an incarnational moment” where God acts on a supernatural level at the same that man acts on a material level. As two people are joined together in a marriage ceremony, God joins them together spiritually, giving weight to Jesus’ words, “What God has joined together, let no one separate.” Although physical separation is sometimes necessary and encouraged (for example, in the instance of spousal abuse), the Catholic Church does not recognize divorce. An annulment, which is the process of declaring a marriage “unlawful,” is the only option for a Catholic to have their marriage dissolved. 

Listen in to this episode to hear David’s grace-filled advice for Catholics who are separated or divorced, and, of course, Adam and David engage in more wordplay.


About Adam Whitescarver

Adam is passionate about seeing God’s people possess vibrant prayer lives to help them make a difference in the sphere of influence God has given them. In ministry since 2001, Adam enjoys his family, teaching, singing, and reading a myriad of subjects. He and his wife, Stephanie, live in North GA with their four children.


Jump Through the Conversation:

• [0:31] Thoughts on unity and “catholicity”
• [3:27] Opening thoughts on marriage and morality
• [4:21] God’s creation of marriage
• [6:59] Explanation of the sacraments
  • Example of baptism
  • Protestant view of the sacraments
  • Matter and form
• [11:59] Sacrament vs covenant
• [14:26] Why separation is accepted but divorce isn’t
• [16:32] Conditions for annulments
• [19:39] Matthew 5:32 and “sexual immorality”
  • Translation issues
  • Premarital intent to be unfaithful
  • Jesus’ amplification of Mosaic divorce
• [25:34] Divorced Catholics
  • [25:53] How to live as someone who has been abandoned by a spouse
  • [27:40] Options for living as someone who has divorced and remarried 

Links and Resources:

• A Beautiful Church website
• Chattanooga House of Prayer website
• Give today
• David Carter’s ministry
• The Gift of Self by Maria Pia Campanella 

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