couple prayer

The field of spirituality has undergone great transformations in recent decades.   Specialists in philosophy, ethics, social science, literature, history, social work, and the health care professions are finding it essential to take account of the spiritual implications of their subjects.   Spirituality, while rooted in theology, is being recognised as a dimension of all human experience.

Formerly it was common to speak of different schools of spirituality, generally associated with a great teacher or founder of a religious order, such as Benedictine, Franciscan, Ignation, Lutheran, or Quaker spirituality.   The 20th Century saw a sea change in various faith communities.   Both in books and from pulpits, in prayer and meditative practice, in theological reflection and pastoral ministry, as a distincively lay spirituality of 'daily life' has emerged, rooted in everyay experience and in our closest relationships.

A major portion of lay people are married or engaged in building a family.   This dimension of their lives has often been overlooked when speaking of their spirituality.  Yet our society has begun to recognise that the conjugal union is a foundational element in the way married people relate to the transcendent.  If spirituality is about openness to the divine and to the other, then it must be a current that runs through marital and family bonds and provides their ultimate meaning.

Marital spirituality can therefore be sought at the intersection of our intimate relationships and our longing for the divine at the heart of our inner lives.  Recent work in this new field has begun to uncover the ways in which spirituality is embodied and expressed in the life of a couple.   It gives a distinct texture to the spiritual journey of individual spouses, and has far-reaching effects on the spiritual health of entire families – children, parents, and siblings.

Consider the following statistics:

• The current divorce rate in the U.S. is 50% of all marriages, or one divorce out of every 2 marriages
• Of those couples who worship together each Sunday, the divorce rate is 3.0%, or one divorce out of every 30 couples who worship together each Sunday.
• Of those couples who pray together in their homes on a regular basis, the divorce rate is 0.3%, or one divorce out of every 300 couples who pray together in their homes.

Does prayer make a difference?  You decide.

(These statistics are quoted from For Better and For Ever by Robert A. Ruhnke, C.Ss.R., D. Min)

Week by week Couple Prayer

For week by week Couple Prayer go to www.loveisforlife.com/specialpray.htm.   This website contains a reflection on the Scripture, prayer that can be shared by a couple both when they are together and when apart, and Questions for Action for both their own relationship and their care for others around them.