I appreciate Pope Leo XIV’s reflection on marriage. He describes love between a man and a woman as a lifelong covenant, sustained through faithfulness, service and forgiveness.
I believe that’s worth saying plainly. A husband and wife make promises before God that deserve care long after the wedding. Feelings matter, but they won’t carry every difficult conversation or tiring season. Sometimes love means admitting you were wrong, listening when you’d rather defend yourself, or making time for each other when life gets busy.
Christian marriage gives us a way to understand that work: we’re learning to love another person in light of Christ’s love for us. When we’ve hurt each other, asking for forgiveness also means taking responsibility and working to repair the harm. Faithfulness includes the boundaries we keep with other people and the attention we give our spouse. Those ordinary choices help build a marriage in which both people can trust each other.
Fidelity asks us to keep honoring those promises in how we live. It never excuses abuse. It calls us to love our spouse with the honesty, patience and care we’ve committed to give.