C21 Releases Book on Catholic Marriages

Love One Another: Catholic Reflections on How to Sustain Marriages Today.

The Church in the 21st Century Center held a luncheon to launch its tenth and newest book, Love One Another: Catholic Reflections on How to Sustain Marriages Today.

The book, edited by Tim Muldoon and Cynthia Dobrzynski and four years in the making, is a series of fourteen essays, all written by authors who are married, reflecting upon marriage in the Catholic tradition.

At the event, Muldoon said the book was created to be a resource especially for young people who are married or considering marriage. He explained that today’s generation does not have the same social support for marriage that existed 50 years ago, but that the Church is trying to address this issue.

“Many young couples report feeling that they are having to sort of figure it out as they go, write a script even as they are acting out the play,” said Muldoon.

The collection also seeks to deepen the Catholic understanding of marriage, theologically, pastorally, and practically. In an interview with The Observer, Cynthia Dobrzynski said that education and support for marriage should not stop with the marriage preparation before the wedding.

“The material that is actually in the marriage preparation program is good and helpful, but it has a shelf life, you need continual resources and support as you go through your married life together and that’s something we’re not as proactive about, certainly not as much as we should be,” said Dobrzynski.

Tim Muldoon discusses his book on Catholic marriage.

One essay in the book, “A Theology for Married People,” written by Muldoon himself, examines how the Church has interpreted marriage throughout the centuries and how couples today ought to understand the spirituality of their marriage.

“What I am interested in, then, is not so much ‘a theology of marriage’ that is appropriate for catechisms, canon law, and documents and texts that professionals use…rather I’m interested in a ‘theology for married people’ – an invitation to married people to look at their daily lives as wives and husbands,” wrote Muldoon.

In his essay, Muldoon considered the tension between marriage as a state-recognized union and a sacrament of the Church. “It is interesting to ask whether it is the task of the church to impact what states decide marriage is, or rather to provide pastoral guidance for the baptized such that their practices and beliefs comport with a broader commitment to the Gospel,” wrote Muldoon.

In an interview he clarified this point, saying “[The] Church isn’t trying to create a certain model for civic society, it is trying to create an understanding of what God calls us to in marriage. It sees that there is a connection between the two; it perceives that if people have the wrong understanding of marriage they’re not going to live out their vocation as authentically or as richly as they can. Therefore gay marriage gets targeted as an object of critique.”

“I would even say maybe given the social circumstances we should back away from that a little bit and […] focus on cultivating the positive vision so that, in the big picture, people know what we’re offering and not just what we’re saying no to,” said Muldoon.

Dobrzynski and Muldoon both emphasized the importance of a Catholic understanding of marriage, not of just the wedding. “If there’s a critique of pop culture, it’s that people are all into weddings,” said Muldoon.

Looking toward the future, both editors believe that the Church will continue to provide resources for the laity regarding how they are called to live out their vocation to marriage. They recommended the USCCB’s website, www.ForYourMarriage.org, for couples looking for more information on Catholic married life.

“God calls us into a deep and lasting life of discipleship through the love of the other, I mean that’s a really profound claim,” concluded Muldoon.

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