Women’s Nagging vs. Men’s Refusal (or Incapacity) to Listen; And The Holy Family
The Holy Family of Nazareth is a school of domestic perfection. The remedy to marital discord is not clever technique, but imitation... Prologue: A Recurring Case In Marriage Two complaints are frequent in marriages in distress: “ She is always nagging.” “He never listens.” These are not merely clashes of temperament. They are questions of virtue, justice, and charity within the sacrament. Beneath the surface lie pride, wounded self-love, and failures in the duties proper to one’s state of life. Marriage is not a competition of wills, but a sacred communion ordered toward mutual sanctification; a participation in the hidden life of Nazareth, where speech and silence were governed by charity. 1. “Nagging”? When Speech Loses Charity Sacred Scripture speaks with realism: “ It is better to dwell in a wilderness, than with a quarrelsome and passionate woman.” (Prov. 21:19) The Church does not ignore this tendency. Repetitive reproach, sharp ton...