A deeper love in marriage for newly married couple

Gavin and Anna Abraham on their wedding day. Photo supplied.

Frank Sinatra used to sing a song about Love and Marriage… if you’re old enough you may remember it from the show Married with Children.

And they are different things. Many people experience Love to people they aren’t married to… parents, siblings, family, and friends. And while marriage is based on love, it’s a unique love unlike any other as newly married couple Anna and Gavin Abraham attest.

Anna and Gavin were married late last year. This is their first St Valentine’s Day as a married couple. and they agree that their love has changed through marriage.

“Being married has deepened the love that we already had for each other,” Anna said.

Their pre-marriage relationship often saw them in a different place and Gavin believes the relationship has now not only grown but continues to grow.

“The first year of our courtship was spent in different countries,” Gavin explained.

“When we finally got to live in the same city, we experienced a new closeness. When we got engaged, this deepened further. Now that we are married and living together (we chose not to live together until we were married) there is a new level to our love. One that comes from the sharing of the everyday things and the knowledge that this is for the rest of our lives.”

Marriage has always been a central aspect of Catholic life and Gavin pointed out some of the pronouncements and commentary Pope’s have made as particularly helpful.

“Amoris Laetitia has some really good advice and teaching on marriage. St John Paul II’s Theology of the Body has also been a helpful tool in our preparation for marriage,” he said.

As Catholics, Gavin and Anna are committed to the fullness of a Catholic married life and the particular commitment to the sacrament of marriage that entails, which the pair believe is intrinsically knitted into the fabric of their relationship.

“In our time of dating and preparation for marriage, it was important to us to make sure our decisions were prayerfully considered,” said Anna.

“Now that we are married, we both recognise the need to continue to develop our own personal faith.”

“In saying that,” added Gavin, “our faith as a couple, as a family, needs to be nourished also. While we were engaged, we began to pray together daily and we are continuing that now that we are married. Being involved in the life of our parish community is another way we foster this faith.”

St Valentine’s Day, despite its origins, has largely become a commercial and a secular occasion in today’s world and Gavin said that he and Anna had placed more emphasis on their three-month milestone a few days ago.

“Valentine’s Day hasn’t been a day of special significance for us so far in our relationship. We are not celebrating it this year, mainly because we celebrated our 3 month-iversary, which was a few days before Valentine’s Day,” he said.

“Celebrating our milestones, no matter how small, has been part of our marriage so far,” agreed Anna.

“We enjoy reminding each other of the love we share and the gratitude we have for each other.”