B
Bubba_Switzler
Guest
Let me preface this by saying: I’m happily married with children. One reason that I’m thinking about this question is that, sooner or later, I’m going to be having this discussion with my own children.
So it occurs to me that I don’t know how to explain why one should get married and have children. I certainly can’t say that I thought through either decision with the seriousness they deserve.
And maybe there is no good explanation: either people feel the call to marry and have kids or they don’t.
I suspect that these decisions rest, at least in part, on whether you had a good family experience with your parents. Most people I hear arguing against marriage and children come from broken homes. Most people I know with big families come from big, stable families.
But the more I think about it the more strange it seems that I can’t explain why this is a good life choice.
A related question is this: when ought people get married? The modern tendency is to wait longer, at least until out of college but often until after some financial stability has been achieved. In many cases this strategy results in lonliness as college is probably the best opportunity to browse a large number of prospective mates whereas office romance is fraught with difficulties.
I know that the Church has lately relaxed its emphasis on marriage and family, accepting the single life as a legitimate vocation. (And, of course, people have always been urged to consider religious vocations.) But what does the modern Church teach about marriage as a vocational choice?
Can anyone suggest any good books on the subject?
So it occurs to me that I don’t know how to explain why one should get married and have children. I certainly can’t say that I thought through either decision with the seriousness they deserve.
And maybe there is no good explanation: either people feel the call to marry and have kids or they don’t.
I suspect that these decisions rest, at least in part, on whether you had a good family experience with your parents. Most people I hear arguing against marriage and children come from broken homes. Most people I know with big families come from big, stable families.
But the more I think about it the more strange it seems that I can’t explain why this is a good life choice.
A related question is this: when ought people get married? The modern tendency is to wait longer, at least until out of college but often until after some financial stability has been achieved. In many cases this strategy results in lonliness as college is probably the best opportunity to browse a large number of prospective mates whereas office romance is fraught with difficulties.
I know that the Church has lately relaxed its emphasis on marriage and family, accepting the single life as a legitimate vocation. (And, of course, people have always been urged to consider religious vocations.) But what does the modern Church teach about marriage as a vocational choice?
Can anyone suggest any good books on the subject?
God’s first action involving man was to create a woman from his rib because it was not good for man to be alone. Then His first commandment to man was to be fruitful and multiply. Strong families are the basis for any society, by God’s design. If we look at the great civilizations of Greece and Rome we see they were weakened and fell when hedonism became widespread. It didn’t happen overnight, but eventually as the family structure fell apart so did the empires. A good spouse makes life infinitely better. Hard times are more bearable, two heads are better than one when solving problems, good times are better because of shared joys. And kids, well ask your kids if they enjoy being alive. If they do then don’t you think life is a gift you’d like to give someone else? Besides, someone’s gotta pay for Social Security for all us geezers. 