The Changing Face of Marriage- Response

My experiences in the “domestic church” with my parents as the first preachers of faith by word and example have been good. My parents raised my siblings and I as Catholic and have instilled many values in us that are important and have truly become important to us such as “treat others how you want to be treated” and “do not judge a book by its cover.” My parents not only sent my three siblings and I to Catholic grade school, but three of us, so far, to Catholic high schools. My parents have set a great example for my siblings and I to follow because they treat each other how spouses should be treated and they show us that they stay true to their Catholic faith. A pro of the changing structure and composition of marriage and family is that we are breakaway from the “old school” traditions such as women being seen as “house wives” and men being the “breadwinners” of the family; however, a con to this principle is that many families are losing the values and standards of faith and are settling for less than they deserve. To me, learning that those with a college degree are less likely to experience divorce and multiple marriages than those without a college degree is enlightening because I, hopefully, will be earning my college degree in the near future. However, I believe that people without a college degree can have successful marriages because I think that it depends on the people in the relationship and the situations they may come across. The future will determine whether or not I will establish the “domestic church” in my home, but as of now, I do believe that I will teach my children the same principles I had the privilege of learning from my parents. 

Marriage and Vatican II

At the Second Vatican Council, many influential teachings about marriage were formulated.  Many of these teachings and ideals are different than the views of marriage in our society today. The article states, "The Second Vatican Council’s 'Constitution on the Church in the Modern World' expresses 'high esteem' for marriage and family life, and speaks of the 'lofty calling' of spouses and parents." In our society today, marriage is taken for granted; divorces are very common, as well as affairs. This constitution describes marriage as a vocation. As learned in previous chapters, vocation means a calling or pathway that God has set for us in our lives. Nowadays, people do not feel that marriage is necessary in their lives and that it is possible to be independent without a significant other. The constitution also suggests that overtime, the love of a husband and wife should "grow and ripen." This element of love is ideal in most marriages. People wish to grow and strengthen their love with their spouse. 

"Love, Reason, and God's Story"

I do not agree with the claim regarding to dating as something you should not do. I think that dating is a good element in the process of finding your 'true' love; however, I think the choice is a personal choice and each individual person has the choice to date or to not date. Within my group of peers, dating is a normal thing, but not everyone does date. The hook-up culture in colleges and universities is a very big deal because at almost all the parties, people are doing it. Also, amongst most friends groups, people are involved with it as well. In the graph in the article "Conflict Over Hook-Up Culture," most people who are told their friend "hooked up last night" interpret this message into that their friend "had sexual intercourse" last night. If this is true, then many college students are sexually active, probably with many different people. This is bad because it can lead to STDs and STIs. According to the article, when a "hook up" occurs, in the days following, the women "should expect" nothing because the hook up was just casual. Only less than 10% of the time should the women expect a relationship.