The marriage vows: “to have and to hold from this day forward; for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; till death do us part”, were not seen as essential by all of the people I asked, this was surprising to me, as I believe strongly in the vows which extenuate the love and devotion in a relationship. One male said that the vows were not at all important in marriage and that love is the leading factor, which if both people understand and trust it is all that matters. This is not a worrying statement, it shows that young men today believe in trust and love in a relationship although 90% believe that this love should be reinforced through the vows leaving couples openly devoted to each other.
Surprisingly, both sexes agreed that divorcees should be allowed to remarry in the Catholic Church. This goes against our religion, which undermines the Church. The fact that young people today, feel that a second chance should be allowed shows that they feel happiness and the right to practise marriage again after a failed attempt is acceptable. Happiness and well being seem to be the main messages coming across from young people, which is a positive attitude even if it is differing to the Churches attitude.
- Discuss the causes of marital breakdown (21)
Marriage is a sacred sacrament, which is taken as a life long project to work at and develop to ensure a happy, loving environment throughout all circumstances. This is why the causes of marital breakdown are usually deep factors, which separate the couple and leave them unable to continue with their marriage.
Marriages can break down due to a great number of factors. Although the vows: “to have and to hold from this day forward; for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish” “till death do us part” these vows can be broken by interruptions in a marriage, such as adultery, children etc.
Adultery is a terrible betrayal of trust. Some partners find solace in another person outside the marriage and lead themselves astray and by doing so, ruin the trust in the relationship and cause marriage breakdown.
Children are an issue, which do cause arguments inside a relationship. Some couples do not discuss the want of children before the marriage and can have differing views, which can leave partners distraught and unfulfilled in the marriage with their dreams of a family shattered. The separate feelings divide the couple and therefore, a marital breakdown occurs.
Marriages can be affected devastatingly by health and illness; couples are put under pressure to look after each other during challenging times, and the effect of deteriorating health can leave couples seeking freedom outside of the marriage, which causes marital breakdown, therefore mocking the sacred vows “in sickness and in health”.
Abuse inside a marriage is a terrible situation. Verbal or physical abuse towards a partner is tormenting, and so, a marriage could breakdown due to the abused seeking security and protection without their partner in a safer environment.
It is clear that there are many reasons why marriages break down, which is a sad factor in today’s society, this is a harsh reality, which brings sadness to many families and can destroy people’s lives.
- “The Christian marriage vows are irrelevant today” Comment (15)
I believe that “the Christian marriage vows are” not “irrelevant today”. The wedding vows are central to Christian marriage, when a couple make promises of “to have and to hold from this day forward; for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; till death do us part”, the couples wish to abide with these words. As these are vows, permanently made before God, Christians recognise that they are sacred and solemn promises which give marriage its special meaning.
In some cases I believe that “Christian marriage vows are irrelevant”. Some marriages before God are taken in vain, people find marriage as a way of trying to help their relationship in different ways, to form a permanent bond, but it does not always work. In these cases “till death do us part” does not exist and separation and divorce occurs. These cases show that “the Christian marriage vows are irrelevant today”.
