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Marriage As A Covenant of Love
Marriage As A Covenant of Love
Another husband, in his forties, came to me one day with this revelation.
“Father, now I know what they say that to have many wives is polygamy, two have two
wives is bigamy, and to have one wife is monotony!”
I presume you and I know better than that, although quite a number of us here
are professional celibates. All joking aside, allow me to single out three simple
questions regarding our subject: Marriage as a Covenant of Love. The WHAT? The
WHY? And the HOW? I will dwell only briefly on the first two, since we are all
knowledgeable about them theoretically and theologically. I will focus more on the
experiential, psycho-spiritual skills of the HOW, for practical and pastoral reasons.
THE “WHAT”
And going as far back as St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, spouses are reminded that
they are to love each other and gave his very life for them (Eph 5:21-33).
THE “WHY”
This precisely bring us to the WHY of the marital vows, which is the mutual
presence of authentic, mature love – tested through time and process.
What is the difference between authentic, mature love and its opposite? Take
these two young couples pronouncing their marital vows in two different churches.
Observe the first couple. Each spouse is now whispering silently to himself/herself:“Ah,
ngayong mag-asawa na tayo,halika , paligayahin mo ako.” (now that we are married –
come, make me happy).This is what I call the “disaster formula.”
What about the other couple? Each spouse silently whispers to himself/herself:
“Ah, ngayong mag-asawa na tayo, halika, papaano kita mapaliligaya? (Now that we are
married – come, tell me how can I make you happy?) The “success formula.”
PRE-MARITAL/MARITAL DYNAMICS AND COUNSELING
RMT- Center for Family Ministries
THE “HOW”
Let us now move to the HOW of the “success formula”: the psycho-spiritual
skills of sustainable love. Due to our limited time, allow me to jus describe briefly some
foundational skills of marital relationship that are indispensable for a lifelong covenant of
love. I am basing this on my more than 30 years of pastoral ministry as a professional
marriage counselor, and on having conducted numerous seminars, workshops and
retreats for married couple.
To fall in love is easy. No sweat. But to stay in love, and to grow in love –
there’s the rub.
The more common tendency is to expect our loved one(s) to love us in return,
this expectation is a trap, for both the lover and the loved one. In the name of love, this
unspoken expectation becomes a demand, be it aggressive or passive; a kind of
clinging, grasping, manipulative behavior. The love is trapped, because his/her
happiness (energy replenishment) now depends on the other.
This is the way of the wise. This is the way of the mystics. And that
inexhaustible source of energy is none other than the all-loving God. How to connect
and keep connected with this Giant Energy System is the secret of sustainable love.
Each one of us has this potential of being a mystic – the contemplative power
of the heart – by which we learn to love the universe, all of creation and mankind, in a
deeply personal way, constantly receiving God’s love-energy through them.
Take just one example. Sit under a tree and really quiet down. Slowly and
gently, allow the tree – its trunk, branches, and leaves – to “speak” to you. In a simple
and humble way, allow the tree to give you its energy, as you see and hear and smell
and taste and touch it. And as you continue to appreciate and admire its specialness
with deeper intensity, feel the love that comes into you. And then send it back to the
tree. You can stay there for a long time and feel greatly energized at the end of it all.
Drawing love-energy from the tree, and then sending it back to the tree, without feeling
depleted in the process.
The tree could be some other part of creation as other times. It could be the
sky, the sea, or the birds. It could be your spouse, or your children. Indeed, I could be
any and every human person who breathes the breath of life, the life of God.
Now we can understand St. Francis’ love for Brother Sun and Sister Moon,
and his constant philosophy of life: “It is in giving that we receive.” Now we can
understand St.Ignatius lifelong experience of “finding God in all things.” Now we
understand the inexhaustible giving that Mother Theresa lived for, even into her
eighties.
Mutual Empathy
What is empathy? And what does it mean for a husband or wife to be and
empathetic listener? Briefly, to listen with empathy means to set aside my own thoughts
and feelings about what is being expressed or explained by my spouse – and instead
enter my spouse’s world and perspective, putting myself in his/her place, so that I can
BE-WITH, THINK-WITH, and FEEL- WITH, my spouse. Nonjudgmental and proactive,
rather than reactive or inactive. To understand my spouse with my heart, more than with
my logic or rationality.
It is after this that my spouse will open to listen to me in return, and will try to
understand me likewise with empathy. The deepest meaning, then, of empathy is none
other than compassion – “cum pati” – meaning to suffer-with, or go-through-with, my
spouse what he/she is going through.
Friendship in Marriage
Well, it never does. It needs explicit attention, care, and nurturing, Most of all, it
needs time, which the couple must be willing to invest.
Husband and wife must be willing to “waste time” with each other on a regular
basis, if they are to be close friends, or the closest of friends. Otherwise, what they
experienced during courtship simply dies a natural death, due to their preoccupation
with their children, their work, and other duties and functions. The romance, tenderness,
and playfulness tend to be less and less. Karinyo (sweetness), the balik-ligaw (as in
courting stage) approach, does more wonders than sessions with a marriage counselor.
Spouses can often become each other’s friend-counselors.
For a couple to grow old together gracefully, their God centered lifestyle must
be committed to a few more values that cannot be bought by money.
Marital Psychodynamics
Equality in dignity and human rights between man and woman – this is fully
supported by both the Philippine Constitution (State Policies, Sec. 14), and Church
teaching (Familiaris Consortio n.22). A double-standard of morality is non-defensible.
PRE-MARITAL/MARITAL DYNAMICS AND COUNSELING
RMT- Center for Family Ministries
Typical patterns:
- Sexuality and Spirituality. “The nuptial meaning of the human body” (John
Paul II). Every human person has his/her need and longing the desire to “marry God” –
to be completed by God in order to find happiness. Your spouse is that human
representation of that desire for God.
You were born together, And together you shall be forever more.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God
PRE-MARITAL/MARITAL DYNAMICS AND COUNSELING
RMT- Center for Family Ministries
But let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the
heavens dance between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your
bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same
music.
Give me your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand
of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress
grow not in each other’s shadow.