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class="col-article__title"> <h1 > <div class="rich-text "> Marriage Needs Strong Friends </div> </h1> </div> <div class="col-article__date"> <time>Nov. 1, 2024</time> </div> <div class="col-article__subtitle"> <span > <div class="rich-text "> As they strive to faithfully live out their vocation, Catholic spouses cannot go it alone </div> </span> </div> <div class="col-article__byline"> <span>By Conor Dugan</span> </div> <div class="col-article__date-mobile"> <time>Nov. 1, 2024</time> </div> <section class="col-article__featured "> <figure class="image-block-wrapper"> <picture><source srcset="https://files.kofc.org/images/assets/2024_11+For+Your+Marriage.jpg/89949148979311ef9144aece4ba995e3?width=900&height=506" /><img src="https://files.kofc.org/images/assets/2024_11+For+Your+Marriage.jpg/89949148979311ef9144aece4ba995e3?width=900&height=506" alt="Woman and man looking distressed" loading="eager" class="img" decoding="auto" width="900" height="506" /></picture> <figcaption class="caption"> <div class="rich-text "> Milos Dimic/E+ via Getty Images </div> </figcaption> </figure> </section> <section class="col-article__content-rich-text"> <div class="score-rich-text-block default default"> <div class="content-area "> <div class="rich-text "> <p>Marriage is hard, and it takes hard work. It inevitably involves pain and suffering. Christians are promised the cross, so we shouldn’t be surprised when the cross finds us in our marital vocations. Yet too often we seem shaken by the crosses of married life.</p> <p>To admit that we struggle in marriage can seem an admission of defeat, a denigration of the beautiful truth of the Church’s teachings. However, it is key to a genuine life of faith. As the future Pope Benedict XVI once put it, “True believing means looking the whole of reality in the face, unafraid and with an open heart.”</p> <p>It isn’t enough to be honest and forthright just with oneself. We also need others — friends who share our belief that marriage is for life and worth <em>working at and working at and working at</em>. We need friends who will be there to laugh with us, pray with us, and tell us candidly when we are being big meatheads who need to apologize to our wives. We need friends we can talk to about the warts in our marriage that aren’t obvious from curated social media posts. And we need to share our struggles long before they become a crisis.</p> <p>So, too, we cannot forget our heavenly friends, the “cloud of witnesses” we read about in Hebrews 12:1. Pray to these friends and ask them to intercede on your behalf. A few names come to mind: St. Joseph and Our Lady, Sts. Joachim and Ann, St. Thomas More, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, Blesseds Józef and Wiktoria Ulma. I am sure you can think of others. Read about their lives, and ask them for help.</p> <p>Friends, on earth and in heaven, are integral to a good marriage. Seek them out. You and your marriage will be stronger because of it.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">*****</p> <p>CONOR B. DUGAN is a husband, father of four, and attorney who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he is a member of St. Stephen Council 15691.</p> </div> </div> </div> </section> </section> <section class="col-article__related-articles bg-colorExtraLightGrey"> <section class="article-card-block container"> <section class="article-card-block__title content-grid"> <h1 class="article-card-block__title__text grid-col-full text-left">Related Articles</h1> </section> <section class="article-card-block__cards content-grid"> <div class="article-card"> <div class="article-card__image"> <a href="/family/marriage/2026/01/the-seasons--of-marriage/"> <picture><source srcset="https://files.kofc.org/images/assets/Snow+on+a+sunny+day.jpg/Zz0zZjhjYWQzMGVjMGUxMWYwYmZlM2I2MGE3OWUyZjUwNw==?width=318&height=212" /><img src="https://files.kofc.org/images/assets/Snow+on+a+sunny+day.jpg/Zz0zZjhjYWQzMGVjMGUxMWYwYmZlM2I2MGE3OWUyZjUwNw==?width=318&height=212" alt="aphrodite74 / E+ via Getty Images" loading="lazy" 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<div class="article-card__details__category"> <a href="/family/marriage/"> <h3>Marriage</h3> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/07/marriage-makes-men-of-us/> <h2>Marriage Makes Men of Us</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title-mobile"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/07/marriage-makes-men-of-us/> <h2>Marriage Makes Men of Us</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__by-line"> <p>By Joseph Pearce</p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser"> <p>The measure of true manhood lies in the willingness to give up one’s life out of love </p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser-mobile"> <p>The measure of true manhood lies in the willingness to give up one’s life out of love </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-card"> <div class="article-card__image"> <a href="/family/marriage/2025/06/love-bears-fruit/"> <picture><source srcset="https://images3.cmp.optimizely.com/assets/DomesticChurch_ForYourMarriage.jpg/Zz03ZmVmMzcyNjNjYTUxMWYwOGY4ZDZhYzZjZTU4NDI4Ng==?width=318&height=212" /><img src="https://images3.cmp.optimizely.com/assets/DomesticChurch_ForYourMarriage.jpg/Zz03ZmVmMzcyNjNjYTUxMWYwOGY4ZDZhYzZjZTU4NDI4Ng==?width=318&height=212" alt="DomesticChurch_ForYourMarriage.jpg" loading="lazy" decoding="auto" width="318" height="212" /></picture> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details"> <div class="article-card__details__category"> <a href="/family/marriage/"> <h3>Marriage</h3> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/06/love-bears-fruit/> <h2>Love Bears Fruit</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title-mobile"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/06/love-bears-fruit/> <h2>Love Bears Fruit</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__by-line"> <p>By Leigh and Carter Snead</p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser"> <p>Carrying the cross of infertility with Christ can become a path to unexpected gifts</p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser-mobile"> <p>Carrying the cross of infertility with Christ can become a path to unexpected gifts</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-card"> <div class="article-card__image"> <a href="/family/marriage/2025/05/the-bridegroom-of-our-souls/"> <picture><source srcset="https://images4.cmp.optimizely.com/assets/Wedding+at+Cana/Zz1iYWUwMTM1ODQ4NWYxMWYwOTU5NGUyNGVkYTlhYjhmMw==?width=318&height=212" /><img src="https://images4.cmp.optimizely.com/assets/Wedding+at+Cana/Zz1iYWUwMTM1ODQ4NWYxMWYwOTU5NGUyNGVkYTlhYjhmMw==?width=318&height=212" alt="Wedding at Cana" loading="lazy" decoding="auto" width="318" height="212" /></picture> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details"> <div class="article-card__details__category"> <a href="/family/marriage/"> <h3>Marriage</h3> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/05/the-bridegroom-of-our-souls/> <h2>The Bridegroom of Our Souls</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title-mobile"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/05/the-bridegroom-of-our-souls/> <h2>The Bridegroom of Our Souls</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__by-line"> <p>By John Cuddeback</p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser"> <p>In the sacrament of marriage, we are called to be a living sign of Christ’s love for the Church</p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser-mobile"> <p>In the sacrament of marriage, we are called to be a living sign of Christ’s love for the Church</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-card"> <div class="article-card__image"> <a href="/family/marriage/2025/04/where-love-rejoicespage/"> <picture><source srcset="https://images4.cmp.optimizely.com/assets/April2025_DomesticChurch_Marriage/Zz03ODM4YjRkZTNkOTExMWYwOGNhYzIyMmU4NjJjOGJmYg==?width=318&height=212" /><img src="https://images4.cmp.optimizely.com/assets/April2025_DomesticChurch_Marriage/Zz03ODM4YjRkZTNkOTExMWYwOGNhYzIyMmU4NjJjOGJmYg==?width=318&height=212" alt="Smiling woman hugging her husband on the couch from behind in the living room" loading="lazy" decoding="auto" width="318" height="212" /></picture> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details"> <div class="article-card__details__category"> <a href="/family/marriage/"> <h3>Marriage</h3> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/04/where-love-rejoicespage/> <h2>Where Love Rejoices</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__title-mobile"> <a href=/family/marriage/2025/04/where-love-rejoicespage/> <h2>Where Love Rejoices</h2> </a> </div> <div class="article-card__details__by-line"> <p>By Rolando Moreno</p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser"> <p>A strong marriage requires that we intentionally cultivate a loving relationship with our spouse</p> </div> <div class="article-card__details__teaser-mobile"> <p>A strong marriage requires that we intentionally cultivate a loving relationship with our spouse</p> </div> </div> </div> </section> </section> </section> </main> <div class="jump-to-top-btn"> <button type="button" class="scrollToTopBtn"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-labelledby="backToTopTitle backToTopDesc"> <title id="backToTopTitle">Back to top</title> <desc id="backToTopDesc">Click here to scroll back to the top</desc> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="11" transform="translate(1 1)" fill="#fff" opacity="0.65" /> <g transform="translate(0.375 0.399)"> <g> <path d="M0,11.8A11.8,11.8,0,1,1,11.8,23.6,11.814,11.814,0,0,1,0,11.8m21.529,0A9.728,9.728,0,1,0,11.8,21.528,9.739,9.739,0,0,0,21.529,11.8" transform="translate(0 0)" fill="#626161" /> <path d="M14.648,27.369l6.579-6.579,6.579,6.579L26.34,28.834l-5.113-5.113-5.113,5.113Z" 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