Yes, He Needs to be Catholic

I was recently introduced to The Art of Catholic Podcast by a my favorite englishman over at Restless Pilgrim. I haven’t decided if I’m going to be a regular listener yet, but I did listen to one episode recently that got me thinking about my future husband and a common conversation I have with people when the topic comes up.

Even a woman I work with has an opinion about this. Her husband isn’t Catholic, and on the MARTA on our way to the Atlanta airport last April she told me why that’s fine for her. Those last two words being the most significant – “for her.” She’s brought it up multiple times. “There’s a man out there for you, I just don’t think he’s Catholic.” Okay, good to know, thanks for the encouragement. So I’ve stopped bringing it up with her (and most others, to be honest) because I just think they don’t get me.

Then I listened to this episode and he statistics cited in the first few minutes of this podcast and my desire for a Catholic man is affirmed. The episode is about where men are in the church and what might be some of the reasons why the answer is “not there.” But the first part of the episode he cites some amazing studies about children and their likelihood of staying in the faith. Mothers have some influence on the faith of their children, but fathers hold the cake here. If the man of the household is a strong, faith-filled person, then the children remain Catholic something like 75% of the time. The same stat for mom’s who are faith-filled, but dad isn’t, is less than 25%. WOW!

Our father’s have such an influence on our faith.

It’s not a guarantee, nothing is. I was introduced to Christian over at The Evangelista via this article last year. Her main theme is that her parents persevered in their faith and were a witness to their children. Her father is a strong, faith-filled man as well. They were faithful because it was important to them. And they caught it!

So yeah – he has to be Catholic. We aren’t getting married to just not be alone. We’re trying to get each other to Heaven and to raise Saints. This isn’t something I can do on my own, nor do I want to.

Where is this man? I don’t know. Is there only one possibility? No, as Emily Stimpson Chapman said in The Catholic Girl’s Guide to the Single Life a few years ago: “You’re single because you want to be. You’re looking for something more than the average person is offering. You’re waiting for the one that the Lord has prepared to help make you a saint.” [That’s a loose quote.] She wrote that book many years before meeting the man she would marry. They were married just a few years ago now, right around her 40th birthday. They were ready for each other and are prepared to help each other get to Heaven, and soon their new little baby that they are adopting.

Being the right person and marrying the right person are the two more important things to a healthy, happy, long-lasting marriage. Getting married just because I’m tired of sleeping alone? I’d probably be better off getting a dog … although, I’m not there yet…