Most Christians, as is only natural, are called to the vocation of Holy Matrimony, which –precisely by being part of the natural order of things – is instituted by God (cf. Gen 2). This means that God has an interest in marriage as such, and it is because He has an interest in you. A trap that people can fall into, however, is to think that because marriage is natural, it also will be fairly straightforward to maintain over the course of life. Unfortunately, evidence to the contrary is abundant. For this reason, St. Rita has recently partnered with Communio in an effort to increase opportunities for you to strengthen your marriages and for couples to grow in healthy relationship with each other and with God.
When you buy a car, you are often goaded to buy some sort of maintenance plan to go with it, and you are rightly interested in the warranty. Most of us aren’t equipped to do all of the maintenance ourselves, and you never know what might break. There are, of course, some who have spent a significant amount of time working on cars, and so they know more and can do more, but this is not the case for everyone.
Your marriage is much more important than your car. There are, likewise, some who grew up in a very strong family, being given a great example of marriage at home. As one who spends a lot of time preparing couples for marriage, I can tell you that this is not the case for most people. In a world that has been full of broken relationships for many years, many people are not interested in a marriage like their parents’ marriage. And, more to the point, they don’t always have the tools necessary to have a better one.
Further, there isn’t exactly a “dealership” for marriages. Call it the Church or the courthouse if you like, but neither of these locations are as equipped for marriage maintenance as your car dealership is for your car. Most of the marriage resources are like independent auto body shops, and they can be hit or miss. While the Church can and does provide pastoral counseling for difficult situations in marriage – priests are often sought out for guidance in this area – we are not marriage therapists. We are an important aspect of the growth, healing, and strengthening that can be needed, but there are other aspects that also need to be addressed, which can also sometimes require more time than your average priest has available.
Over the next couple of weeks at Mass, you will be asked to fill out a short survey that will assist our partnership with Communio. The data that you give us will help us tailor our work with Communio to provide you the best resources we can for your marriage and family life. The fundamental goal is renewal of relationships, marriage, and the family, which are all essential for the handing on of the Gospel. Please pray for this initiative of ours, and if you have an interest in being involved in the strengthening of marriages at St. Rita, please do not hesitate to reach out!
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen