9 Wise, Funny and Totally Catholic Takes on Marriage

What kind of gift [is a child]? The gift of giving us a reason to change, to repent, to see right and wrong clearly, and to choose.

 

Some gift, right? It sounds like the kind of gift that demands things from the receiver…. When you have children, your life will be changed forever. It will be harder to do whatever you want, and every decision you make will be tethered by the consideration of how it will affect your children. Once you have children, your marriage will never be the same.

And you will praise God for it. You will never regret this life of joys and sorrows, frustrations and exaltations, petty duties and profound revelations. You will, as it says in the rite of Baptism, thank God for the gift of your child.

 

Fisher lays out specific lessons that having children teaches you, illustrating them with honest and gritty personal experiences. For any couple trying to reconcile our culture’s message that children suck the joy out of life with our church’s teaching that they are the source of joy, Fisher’s chapter is a must-read.

 

Obstacles to Marriage: From Divorce and Pornography to Premarital Sex and Cohabitation

But the book isn’t just for married couples. It also addresses the hopes and fears of young men and women who want to get married someday, but aren’t quite sure how to get there. In one essay, clinical psychologist James D. White gently acknowledges the experiences of children of divorce, who are often hesitant to marry, fearing that they will repeat the mistakes of their parents. Himself the child of divorced parents, White tells young adults what they need to know to make their marriage succeed, weaving concrete, practical conclusions from social science with a theologically rich explanation of the graces of the sacrament of marriage.

Other essays grapple with the realities of premarital sex, porn, and cohabitation. In an excellent chapter entitled “Stars in the Night Sky: Contemporary Challenges to Marriage,” Brandon McGinley dives deep into the murky darkness of sexual sin. He examines the deeply disturbing prevalence of porn usage and explains how it cripples the human person’s ability to love.

The statistics McGinley cites are not new. But no matter how many times articles report that 70 percent of men and 30 percent of women use internet porn, the fact remains shocking. It seems impossible to understand, let alone
accept, the enormity of the distorted sexuality that number signifies — the broken relationships, lies, and darkness.

At this moment, the emotional low point of the entire collection of essays, McGinley stops to explain the metaphor in his chapter’s title. He writes:

 

By this point, the state of marriage must seem pretty bleak. But it’s precisely in this darkness — like gazing at the night sky out in the countryside — that the points of light shine brightest. Amid these challenges, those who pursue the Catholic vision of marriage stand out in deep contrast to the culture. In these difficult times, it is actually easier to be the signs of contradiction to worldly living that we are called to be.

 

…the truth is that most people want the stability that comes with Catholic marriage, but they think it’s no longer possible. By modeling joyful, faith-filled relationships, we show that authentic marriage is more than possible — it’s wonderful.