United in Heart and Soul to Our Beloved

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Aimed at greater intimacy than the one-flesh union, married love "leads to forming one heart and soul,” states the Catechism. (Section 1643). How do married couples become one in heart and soul, especially when the demands of daily life keep getting in the way?

 Becoming One Heart

 Talk to your beloved about what's in your heart. Sometimes men don't talk enough and women talk too much. What do you think about all day? Do you share those thoughts with your spouse? If not, why not? Take your concerns and preoccupations to prayer and ask God to help you share them with your spouse in a productive and positive way.

 Becoming unified with your spouse is a foretaste of becoming one with God, the Bridegroom of our soul. But union entails sorrow as well as solace. St. Catherine of Siena experienced a mystical marriage with Jesus, which both increased her love and familiarity with Jesus and gave her a more intimate participation in his sufferings. Do we offer to participate in our spouse's sufferings, or do we avoid them because we don't want to feel their hurt as our own? True unity requires compassion

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