Marriage is for Your Holiness

Francis De Sales, bishop of Geneva in the early 1600’s, was counseling a woman about whether or not she should marry and he said, “The state of marriage is one that requires more virtue and constancy than any other. It is a perpetual exercise of mortification.” The calling of marriage is always more than we anticipated. We thought it would enhance our life and satisfy our deepest longings. We expect far too much from marriage. It could never meet our expectations. What we are looking for in marriage can only be found in a relationship with Christ. God demands to be at the center of our marriages. Until we understand that marriage is not about our happiness but our holiness, marriage will become a barrier to our joy rather than God’s blessing for our growth.