What is Marital Happiness?

This is part One of a four-part mini-series on How to have a Happy Marriage: A Catholic Sacramental Point of View.

This talk begins with some hard data on happiness. It looks at an ongoing study that is 84 years old. It started in 1934 and followed 724 young men from 1934 until today. The study includes their spouses and descendants.

Next, the talk presents a framework for categorizing marriages from unhappy to extremely happy. The talk then delves into the structure and patterns of unhappy marriages: Shipwrecked Marriages.

For the married: where does your marriage fit in that continuum and what could you do to improve it?

For the unmarried: what could you do now to prepare yourself for marriage?