Marriage 2.0: Vows, Loves & Commitments

Jude Manickam
3 min readMay 6, 2024

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This post started because I was listening to Spotify when this song — “Too Young To Be Married” came on the air.

It was a huge hit for the English band The Hollies back in 1970.

The bittersweet song portrays the story of a young married couple facing the challenges of parenthood and financial struggles.

The woman wakes up early to greet the milkman and get her kids ready for school.

Despite dreaming of a day to relax in bed, she knows she must keep working.

It poignantly captures the real-life hardships of young love, marriage, and balancing family responsibilities.

The idea being that getting married at a young age is a double-edged sword — balancing the youthful idealism that comes with tying the knot at that crucial age.

You’re fueled by passion, hopes, and the belief that your love can conquer all.

The highs may be dizzying, but the lows can become earth-shattering.

I think it’s a real shame the song doesn’t get played more on the radio today.

Catch the clip here:

Fast forward to today, and getting married young has evolved from an obligation to a being a conscious choice.

While fueled by youthful idealism and passion, balancing vows, careers, and self-discovery is proving tougher every day.

Ironically, many young people seem wedded to their devices and jobs instead!

While the redefined gender identities may even necessitate new marriage titles beyond husband and wife.

Yet, committing early takes courage.

Much like Giovanni, caught in a bind on “Mind Your Language.” He’s got to choose between becoming a priest or getting married.

But wait!

What about getting hitched as a way of atoning for past mistakes?

Here is author, Kathryn Griffin Swegart, in her own words:

In the not-too-distant past my husband and I reminisced about the meandering path that brought us together. He had been away from the Church for ten years and recalled a “coming home” moment that occurred in those bachelor days.

My husband recalled: “I went to confession and the priest said, ‘For our penance, you should get married.’”

This was news to me. Admittedly, I was taken aback.

“You mean I am your penance?” I teased. “Am I doing a good job?”

Now that’s a long penance.

It adds up to over forty years and includes raising a family in rural Maine. With my Boston roots, I never imagined a life with dairy goats and chickens.

I look back and wonder how my husband and I did survive our hard times. We have learned to forgive each other, to rise after we have fallen, and to bear each other’s burdens.

Of course, we were not alone. God’s grace abounds in a sacramental marriage. The Catechism teaches us that we learn to love one another with “supernatural, tender, and fruitful love” (CCC 1642).

Questioned further about this peculiar penance, my husband saw it more as gentle encouragement.

In fact, he was delighted at the prospect of marriage. Sometimes I think priests don’t realize the profound impact they have on us.

That young priest turned off the light in the confessional on an ordinary day, perhaps not realizing the seed he had planted in the mind of my future husband.

(from Magnificat magazine, 20 April 2024)

Kathryn blogs at: http://kathrynswegart.com/

A Few Takeaways:

  • Marrying young brings both passionate ideals and harsh real-life challenges.
  • While facing societal pressures, marriage remains a courageous partnership built on commitment.
  • Beyond the practical trials, it symbolizes a profound spiritual bond — the unification of two souls journeying through life together.
  • Young couples embrace marriage’s essence — a leap of faith into eternal connection.
  • Those who persevere discover immeasurable rewards: an unbreakable foundation to weather any storm and a divine intimacy that reveals the sacred within their union.
  • Though the path is arduous, their devotion can lead to transcendent depths of love.

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Jude Manickam
Jude Manickam

Written by Jude Manickam

🌱 Blogger exploring self-development, AI, entrepreneurship, and health & wellness since the early days. Join me on this journey of insights and inspiration!

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