Responding to the hard saying of Jesus in the Gospels concerning marriage, Our Lord’s apostles understandably ask a sensitive question: “Is it of any benefit to marry?” With contemporary mores shifting more rapidly than ever before concerning marriage, sexuality, and the meaning of family, it is worth asking the question anew: what are the benefits of marriage?

When viewed through the lens of the ancient tradition of the Church, marriage—which St. Thomas Aquinas calls “the greatest of friendships”—can be seen as a school of wisdom, a venue for the cultivation of virtue, and the ordinary means to achieve the supernatural end of the human person.

This talk was originally given at the Wisdom Summit, hosted by St. Patricks Soho in London on June 17, 2023.

Here are some helpful books on the topic that I have read, and that influenced this talk:

The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order, by Scott Hahn (Emmaus Road Publishing, 2018)

Vocation to Virtue: Christian Marriage as a Consecrated Life, by Kent J. Lasnoski (CUA Press, 2014)

The Mystery of Christian Marriage Through the Ages: The Scriptures and the First Thousand Years, by Anna Silvas (Cascade Books, 2020)

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