Keep your joy alive
Marriage Enrichment
Marriage is a beautiful gift, in which we experience a love that fills the depths of our heart and soul. The Catholic Church teaches that the human love between spouses is “caught up into divine love.” The love of God is the source of all love. So when a husband and wife are filled with God’s love they become capable of loving each other completely and faithfully, until death do they part.
Continuously enriching your marriage is essential for lifelong friendship and happiness. Pope Francis says, “The love of Christ can restore to spouses the joy of journeying together. This is what marriage is all about: man and woman walking together, wherein the husband helps his wife to become ever more a woman, and wherein the woman has the task of helping her husband to become ever more a man. It allows your love to be renewed and fosters thankfulness for each other.”
Couples should continuously strive to grow in greater intimacy. Intimacy can be understood much like a triangle–it has three sides: spiritual intimacy, emotional intimacy and physical intimacy. All three are equally important, but when spiritual intimacy takes the lead then the others will flow from it. Marital love will remain alive and also thrive.
A helpful way for spouses to enrich their marriage can be found in the five love languages. Everyone expresses love and receives love differently. The five ways to communicate love include words of affirmation, quality time together, physical affection, acts of service, and gift giving. Spouses should learn each other’s love language so that they can meet one another’s needs and keep their “love tanks” full.
Our Catholic marriage counselors embrace marriage as a Sacrament. As a Sacrament, spouses are called to reveal the love of God to each other and also to the world. They become Christ’s love. And when others see the love between a husband and wife they should feel like they are witnessing the love of God.
Are you ready to enrich your marriage with the three forms of intimacy? Do you want to understand each other’s love languages? Do you simply want to improve your communication, set goals, or share a vision for the future? Counseling for marriage enrichment can be a great blessing and will allow you to enjoy your life together even more.