On the way, however, I may be asked to lay down my life for my friend. This is especially true in our present cultural context. Divorce rates are high. In light of the pressures of marriage and the constantly changing values of the surrounding culture, many today are reluctant to make permanent commitments. Perhaps more than ever before, married couples need the support of a Christian community to live out their call to holiness.
Marriage is a sacrament of faith.
Prayer and the Christian sacraments enable couples to keep this faith vision of marriage alive. The Christian community holds before husband and wife the gospel challenge to love, forgiveness, and faithfulness. It also strengthens individuals to live a life that calls for a constant battle with selfishness and discouragement. The Eucharist is one of the central ways in which this faith vision of marriage is nourished. Here, the couple is drawn again into Jesus' death and resurrection as the pattern of human existence.