St. Valentine’s Day and the Marital Mission
February 13, 2025
One of the most special Valentine’s gifts spouses can give to each other is to recommit to working daily on fulfilling the Catholic mission of their marriage. This work requires an understanding of marriage, oneself, and one’s spouse and the need to engage in the beautiful and sacrificial self-giving love that is required. The weakening or even loss of this special marital mission to God, one’s spouse, children, and kin is seriously depriving spouses and children of the benefits of marriage.
One couple came to my office for help and their story was all too common. They were dissatisfied with their marriage and complained bluntly. The couple’s dedication had slowly dissolved under pressures they faced as well as from the powerful cultural influence of selfishness without their realizing it. These stresses led the husband to pursue pleasure and turned him in upon himself and away from giving to his wife. He disguised his selfishness under the guise of “hard work” and the need for relaxation. The fact was that giving into selfishness changed him. He started to think more about himself and less about his wife and children. He began to place his own desires and need for comfort ahead of the family, choosing to pursue his own leisure activities more often than attending to the needs of his wife and children. His wife recognized that she failed to identify clearly his growing aloofness, thought it was normal in family life and subsequently put up with it.
