My view, as a Catholic.
Marriage is one of those things that ought to be impossible; that's why it's a sacrament. Humans come from a type of beast that forms pair-bonds for seven years, long enough to get the children on their feet, and then they lose interest in each other.
Marriage is a higher commitment of the intellect and the soul; we are better people, wealthier people, with healthier children when we get married, but it requires that we overcome our nature.
As a comparison, think of office towers; they ought to be impossible. They ought to require a Sky Hook to complete - a magical hook that hangs down from the sky, and can lift steel beams to whatever height we wish. Engineers, through incredibly ingenuity (the sort of ingenuity that nature and evolution alone could never create) manage to 'trick' a Sky Hook into existing.
Marriage is the same way. By the woman vowing to submit, and the husband vowing to cherish, and through the magic of Grace, we are able to transcend our instincts and re-employ them in a way that only human beings are capable of.
50 years ago marriages may have been more stable because of the law, but (I suspect) there were nonetheless a huge number of failed marriages. Back then, getting married was a risk of marital misery; these days, it's a risk of divorce theft. It's always been a major decision, as risky and foolish as Baptism or joining the Priesthood. When you marry somebody, you're giving up the right to be happy; your duty is to make HER happy, to protect and cherish her, regarldess of how it makes you feel. It's her duty to submit and obey you, and work hard to please you, whether she wants to or not.
If you both give up on being happy, you'll be ridiculously happy with each other; if you try and be happy, you'll both wind up miserable. If she can understand this, she might be worth marrying.
Marriage is one of those things that ought to be impossible; that's why it's a sacrament. Humans come from a type of beast that forms pair-bonds for seven years, long enough to get the children on their feet, and then they lose interest in each other.
Marriage is a higher commitment of the intellect and the soul; we are better people, wealthier people, with healthier children when we get married, but it requires that we overcome our nature.
As a comparison, think of office towers; they ought to be impossible. They ought to require a Sky Hook to complete - a magical hook that hangs down from the sky, and can lift steel beams to whatever height we wish. Engineers, through incredibly ingenuity (the sort of ingenuity that nature and evolution alone could never create) manage to 'trick' a Sky Hook into existing.
Marriage is the same way. By the woman vowing to submit, and the husband vowing to cherish, and through the magic of Grace, we are able to transcend our instincts and re-employ them in a way that only human beings are capable of.
50 years ago marriages may have been more stable because of the law, but (I suspect) there were nonetheless a huge number of failed marriages. Back then, getting married was a risk of marital misery; these days, it's a risk of divorce theft. It's always been a major decision, as risky and foolish as Baptism or joining the Priesthood. When you marry somebody, you're giving up the right to be happy; your duty is to make HER happy, to protect and cherish her, regarldess of how it makes you feel. It's her duty to submit and obey you, and work hard to please you, whether she wants to or not.
If you both give up on being happy, you'll be ridiculously happy with each other; if you try and be happy, you'll both wind up miserable. If she can understand this, she might be worth marrying.