English
EspañolWhy do we belong to each other? Because we love each other entirely and sincerely. By being faithful and loyal, we protect our marriage’s good name, honor, and intimacy. We give each other intimate trust and companionship.
Text
“Married couples joined by love speak well of each other; they try to show their spouse’s good side, not their weakness and faults. In any event, they keep silent rather than speak ill of them.” (The Joy of Love, n.113)
Commentary
With sadness and embarrassment, I have witnessed how some couples air their intimacies in public on several occasions. They take advantage of a meeting with friends to unveil their partner, expose their defects or limitations, and embarrass them in public with private things. Instead of defending their good name, they tear it down. They criticize their spouse behind his back. These and similar attitudes are disloyalty. They damage the spouse´s image and reputation. At the same time, they dishonor the disloyal spouse who, while believing he has presented himself in a good light, actually disrespects his marriage and family.
A disloyal person is stupid because he throws stones at his own house. He is even more stupid if he believes that, by denigrating his partner, he exalts himself. When he does that, he does not love. If he is in the habit of always doing so, then he has never loved.
Disloyalty is the mother of distrust, suspicion, and doubt between spouses. Those who genuinely love each other are loyal until the end. Furthermore, that loyalty gives them intimate security and confidence.
Let us take advantage of occasions to emphasize the positive aspects of the other, to praise, defend and protect him, to show a privileged, warm and special treatment for our spouse in public. We will strengthen our union, besides enjoying each other thanks to gestures of mutual predilection and loyalty.
It is evident that we have defects; everyone knows that because even the most foolish of us recognize our limitations. What is private and intimate, what is ours, especially our defects and what we still cannot do well, we usually keep to ourselves to talk about it respectfully, affectionately, and patiently, demonstrating our desire to find solutions. We are loyal to each other by protecting our intimacy. When we both do so, we become closer more trusting, even if we have not yet found the solution to a problem or the way out of a wrong step.
Good love, loyal love, can digest even our bad casseroles.
