A recent article in The National Catholic Register reports on a study by the faith-focused non-profit Communio that sheds light on the crisis in the institution of marriage in the Church. Marriages in the Church have declined by 71% in the United States since 1970. This poses a major challenge to the future vitality of the Church in our country if one considers the fact that “stable married households remain the most important environment for fostering the faith of future generations: 83% of weekly Sunday Mass attendees grew up in a married home, and nearly 9 in 10 men ordained to the priesthood in the last two years were raised in intact families by married parents.” The report notes that, “parental practice, a warm parent-child bond, and a stable marriage outweigh every institutional program in transmitting faith.” If the health and vitality of the Church is directly affected by the health and vitality of marriage culture and the family life of its members, the Church must take the above findings very seriously.
One of the challenges to contemporary marriage culture generally is that parents focus very little on actively preparing their children for marriage. Studies have shown that while 90% of parents view their children’s professional and financial well-being as being important, only 20% attribute the same level of importance to their children getting married and starting a family. Perhaps parents think this part of their children’s lives will just work itself out on its own, but they’re mistaken. Young people often find dating culture hard and not conducive to finding a good spouse. Much more must be done to help people prepare to get married and stay married. But Communio reports that over 80% of Catholic parishes spend no resources on marriage enrichment ministry. Less than a quarter of parishes have any continuing formation available to newlyweds after they get married.
Over the years, our parish has offered various programs for marriage enrichment, receiving very positive feedback. Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of parishioners have participated. Perhaps people associate such programs with marriages in crisis. But this is wrongheaded. All of us understand the value of bringing our cars for regular maintenance to avoid mechanical breakdown. Why then do we neglect regular marital maintenance? Moreover, the programs we sponsor are not for marriages in crisis. They are aimed at helping people in good marriages make them much better marriages. Our next program is scheduled to begin Nov. 4. It’s a 4-part series with participants meeting on Tuesday nights from 7-9pm. It will focus on helping couples communicate better, resolve differences with greater charity, and grow in mutual understanding – all of which make for happier relationships. You can sign up using the “Marriage Enrichment Course” link on our website. For those facing marital crises, there is a “Marriage Resources” link on our parish website providing helpful programs. And if you are interested in helping start an initiative in service of our recently married couples to help through the growing pains, please let me know. Your marriages are important – not just for yourselves and your families, but also for the Church. We want couples to view the parish as their extended family in faith, and a place where they can work on their marriages and raise their families to pursue the most important things which lead to eternal happiness.
posted 10/17/26
