Why Marriage Preparation?

Why does the Catholic Church require a Marriage Preparation Program for its members?

Participation in pre-marital instruction offers couples preparing for marriage:

• a time away from the distractions of daily living to focus on their relationship
• an opportunity to discern if the vocation of marriage is the right path for them
• an experience of learning about what a “Catholic marriage” means
• an exploration of many aspects of married life
• an introduction to skills essential to marriage, such as communication & conflict resolution

These elements aid couples in living a happy and fulfilling married life together.

Check out these numbers:

• Premarital preparation can reduce divorce rate by 30%.
  Stanley, S.M., Amato, P.R., Johnson, C.A., & Markman, H.J. (2006). Premarital education, marital quality, and marital stability: Findings from a large, random household survey. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 1, 117-126.*
• Recent research combining information from 11 experimental studies found significant differences favoring couples who received premarital education. There was a 79% improvement in all marital outcomes compared to couples who did not receive premarital education.
  Carroll, J.S. & Doherty, W.J. (2003). Evaluating the effectiveness of premarital prevention programs: A meta-analytic review of outcome research. Family Relations, 52, 105-118.*

Why does the Catholic Church disapprove of couples living together before marriage?

Most people get married believing a myth. That marriage is a beautiful box full of all the things they have longed for: Companionship, sexual fulfillment, intimacy, friendship. The truth is that marriage at the start is an empty box. You must put something in before you can take anything out. There is no love in marriage. Love is in people and people put it into marriage. There is no romance in marriage People have to infuse it into their marriages. A couple must learn the art and form the habit of giving, loving, serving, and praising—keeping the box full. If you take out more than you put in, the box will be empty.     http://biblesays.faithsite.com/content.asp?CID=36331