When marriage is not ‘for better’ but ‘for worse’

[Michie]

June is traditionally the most popular month for scheduling weddings. There’s something appropriate about the flowering of a romantic relationship at the time of year when the trees and the fields are also blooming—and producing new life.

In recent years, however, more American couples have been choosing to marry in September or October. Is that because the weather is more temperate in the fall months? Or because couples are marrying later in life, and no longer bursting with the same effervescent spirit? Or is it simply a temporary fashion, which will lose its currency, and June will regain its rightful place as the peak of the marriage season?

(Bear in mind that “June” rhymes with “moon” and “croon” and “tune” and “spoon,” whereas “September” and “October” hold little appeal for would-be romantic poets. But I digress.)

January, however, is the undisputed champion for divorce filings. Apparently some unhappy couples agree to stay together through the holiday season, for the sake of the children or for the convenience of setting up separate accounts at the start of the new calendar year. (Here I refer to the “holiday” season, because those who celebrate the “Christmas” season are less likely to divorce.)

Continued below.

When marriage is not ‘for better’ but ‘for worse’

Sometimes a successful marriage requires heroism. Every Catholic should know that’s what marriage means, for better or worse.

www.catholicculture.org

 

[KingdomLeast]

June is traditionally the most popular month for scheduling weddings. There’s something appropriate about the flowering of a romantic relationship at the time of year when the trees and the fields are also blooming—and producing new life.

In recent years, however, more American couples have been choosing to marry in September or October. Is that because the weather is more temperate in the fall months? Or because couples are marrying later in life, and no longer bursting with the same effervescent spirit? Or is it simply a temporary fashion, which will lose its currency, and June will regain its rightful place as the peak of the marriage season?

(Bear in mind that “June” rhymes with “moon” and “croon” and “tune” and “spoon,” whereas “September” and “October” hold little appeal for would-be romantic poets. But I digress.)

January, however, is the undisputed champion for divorce filings. Apparently some unhappy couples agree to stay together through the holiday season, for the sake of the children or for the convenience of setting up separate accounts at the start of the new calendar year. (Here I refer to the “holiday” season, because those who celebrate the “Christmas” season are less likely to divorce.)

Continued below.

When marriage is not ‘for better’ but ‘for worse’

Sometimes a successful marriage requires heroism. Every Catholic should know that’s what marriage means, for better or worse.

www.catholicculture.org

May I ask what your opening comments have to do with the subject at hand, namely "When marriage is not ‘for better’ but ‘for worse’"?

 

[Michie]

I did not write the article so you’d have to ask the author. My guess is because June is a popular month for marriage. A month with new life and promises. So do we really consider what the worse in “better or for worse” means? It makes sense when you read it in full. Here is an excerpt from the article but I recommend you read it in its entirety.

In the marriage vows, the lovers pledge their troth “for better or worse.” They thereby acknowledge that they are entering into a relationship whose future cannot be predicted. They may be starry-eyed now, and naturally they expect to be happy together for years. But they know there are risks; things may get “worse.”

What does “worse” mean in a marriage? It may mean living together in illness or poverty. But it may also mean living together in a difficult relationship; the romance itself may become “better or worse.”

Sadly, when a marriage hits a rocky patch, many Catholic couples—even solid, faithful Catholics—think of the divorce before they think of the vows they have made. Sadly, too, many Catholic pastors advise them to think back to their wedding, and ask whether they were really prepared, mentally and emotionally, to give full consent when they made their vows. If they can conjure up a case of defective consent, they have a case for annulment.

Continued below.

When marriage is not ‘for better’ but ‘for worse’

Sometimes a successful marriage requires heroism. Every Catholic should know that’s what marriage means, for better or worse.

www.catholicculture.org