Thinking about moving in?

 

I woke up with the thought "People need to marry." An odd early-morning thought I know, but here I am writing about it now.

My thoughts actually turned to the importance of marriage. 

Marriage is important for us as a society, and it is important for children. If you doubt that, just look around you at the state of families today.

Naturally, strong, healthy marriages is the ideal, where the spouses are both "in" when it comes to their values and lifting each other up, creating a family forged in love.

Unfortunately, not all marriages look like that. Sometimes people marry the wrong person, I get that.

Because of this danger, and for many other reasons, we have become a nation of live-ins. It seems that we have given up on marriage. That, quite honestly, is not a good thing.

Marriage contributes to the fabric of our culture in ways that may not be obvious to some. In marriage, a man and a woman give of themselves completely to one another. Their covenant, their vow, reflects the love God has for us, in a union that cannot be broken.  

Live-ins do not share the same bond that marriage offers, no matter how strong their feelings of love are for one another, nor how great the commitment their words may express.

It's just not the same.

And, before you say marriage is just a piece of paper, you couldn't be further from the truth.

Married couples stand as a model of permanence, commitment and unfailing love, and we need this. And, men and women deserve this. 

If you are in a live-in relationship that is less-than what you personally desire, listen to your inner promptings. You probably need to re-evaluate your relationship.

When it comes to their sexual union, which is the seal of a married couple's love and commitment, "The Church teaches that the sexual union of husband and wife is meant to express the full meaning of love, its power to bind a couple together and its openness to new life."

"Our culture often presents sex as merely recreational, not as a deeply personal or even important encounter between spouses. In this view, being responsible about sex simply means limiting its consequences—avoiding disease and using contraceptives to prevent pregnancy." (*Married Love and the Gift of Life)

Let's never give up on marrying. Pray before you take that step so that you can be confident that it is God's plan for your life. Take your time and don't rush. Too many people ignore the flags that tell them "this person is not for you" and move forward anyway.

Think long and hard before you move in--and before you marry, as well. Never settle for less than what God wants for you.

If someone is not suitable for marriage, then they are likely not suitable to move in with either.

Janet Cassidy
Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com

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*Married Love and the Gift of Life:  https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/natural-family-planning/catholic-teaching/upload/Married-Love-and-the-Gift-of-Life-New-USCCB-Website.pdf