Sexual union in marriage: Appetizer for eternity with God

"Marriage here below is like an icon leading us into the heavenly marriage," Bill Donaghy told 200 people from across Canada attending the recent Catholic Organization for Life and the Family symposium. "It's a teaser; it's an appetizer; it's like a movie trailer."

More on marriage, sex and JP II's Theology of the Body

What makes a marriage work?

If you're Roger Campbell of the Sidney (Montana) Herald, the answer is easy:

Making a marriage last requires a lot of positive ingredients: good friends, wise instruction, warm fellowship, solid support and a circle of praying people to stand with us when the stresses of life threaten even strong relationships.

We couldn't agree more.

More thoughts on marriage from Roger are here.

Words to remember from John Paul II

"Love the family! Defend and promote it as the basic cell of human society; nurture it is the prime sanctuary of life. Give great care to the preparation of engaged couples and be close to young married couples, so that they will be for their children and the whole community an eloquent testimony of God's love."
— Pope John Paul II (2001)

Five lessons from PreCana

Interesting post from a Chicago Sun-Times blog, "Charting one wife-to-be's exhilarating (and exasperating) course to wedded bliss."

The woman writes about the five things she learned from marriage prep. Just five?

Although her overall review of the day was pretty funny: "It wasn't quite as bad as it sounds." Pretty rousing endorsement there. LOL Obviously they didn't do an EE weekend. ;-)

Click here for her observations.

Study: Religion plays a role in couples' fidelity

"A new study by a professor at Brigham Young University says that being actively religious could help those millions of marriage partners stay faithful.

The conclusions are drawn from in-depth interviews with 57 married, heterosexual couples in New England and California. Each couple claimed to be highly religious and represented several different faiths, including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. When asked how religion affected their marriages, the couples mentioned fidelity.

[Study director David] Dollahite found that highly religious couples viewed their marriages as sacred and more important than a simple human connection.

'They just feel that their marriage has a sacred quality to it that they certainly didn't want to disrupt by being unfaithful,' Dollahite said."

Full story

'Catholic marriages declining rapidly' notes Herald

"Catholic marriages in Boston plummeted 61 percent in the past 20 years, going from 12,314 in 1984 to 4,820 just two years ago, according to a church document circulated by a member of an important archdiocese planning group."

Full story

Anyone have any more info on this "church document" or the "important archdiocese planning group"? Is this legit or the Herald blowing things out of proportion?

Enrich your prayer life and marriage

In cleaning out some bookmarks, I found an excellent article from last fall on married couples who prayer together. It's a great read, and offers this prayer, too:

A prayer for married couples

Lord Jesus,

Grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love for each other.

Grant that we may both be filled with faith and trust.

Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony.

May we always bear with one another’s weaknesses and grow from each other ’s strengths.

Help us to forgive one another’s failings, and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness, and the spirit of placing the well-being of one another ahead of self.

May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year.

Bring us both ever closer to you through our love for each other.

Let our love grow to perfection.

Amen.

www.CATHOLICDOORS.COM/PRAYERS

Study: Marriage is good for men

One of the myths surrounding marriage is that married men are miserable, while single men are happier, living the good life. A new study released by Statistics Canaday in late May says that those who think of marriage as the "ball and chain" are now in the minority.

"Statistically, entertainment media husbands are miserable, while philandering single men live the good life. Statistically, those who are real find it to be the other way around—and that's a fact."

Read more here.

Good news, bad news

The Good: The U.S. divorce rate has hit a 36-year low, dropping to 3.6 per 1,000 Americans in 2006, according to the May 4 National Vital Statistics Report, compiled for the Centers for Disease Control.

The Bad: The number of marriages has skidded downward at twice the rate of divorce, declining by slightly less than one third over the last 25 years to 7.3 per 1,000, in the latest report.

"Citing a tenfold increase in cohabiting non-married couples (Emphasis mine - Melissa), some said it was a sign that fewer people were getting married."

Full story here.

From sister to sister: A crash course on marriage

A nice column written by a married woman to her newly engaged sister:

"Before we were married, my husband and I went on a church-mandated weekend retreat for engaged couples, where we talked through hypothetical situations: How would we handle the division of household chores? How would we decide that the time was right to start a family? How many children did we want to have, anyway? When we had children, would I continue to work full-time or stay home?

By having those hypothetical conversations before a volatile situation presented itself, before the emotions ran high, we were able to draw a map for ourselves that we could refer to when we did hit a bump in the road."

Full column

Older engaged = unstable marriage?

People are getting married older - does this mean their marriages are more likely to fail?

Not so, says a new study:

"Age at marriage is higher than ever before in the US, and according to a new study, this trend bodes well for union stability, as marriages that take place at later ages tend to be stable."

Interesting study facts on age, marriage and success rates