Growing up, I wish I'd heard more about the roles of wife and mother. An Ivy League mom's lament.

Not so long ago, the average American man in his 20s had achieved most of the milestones of adulthood: a high-school diploma, financial independence, marriage and children.

The Christian wisdom of Chesterton and Benedict is inclined to see the possibility of hope at the brothel door.

Today is Marriage Sunday and the Archbishop has asked us to preach on marriage, and our pastor in turn has asked me to address this topic, probably because I am married.

As with Manicheanism in the time of Augustine, so in our own time there lurks a dangerous heresy that twists both the truth and a good many lives. I call that heresy Romanticism.

Based on working with thousands of couples over the past 34 years, I would like to offer suggestions for priceless gifts that you can give to your spouse this Valentine's Day. These are the gifts of virtues that will strengthen your personality, marriage, children and society.

Marriage understood as the conjugal union of husband and wife really serves the good of children, the good of spouses, and the common good of society. The arguments against this view fail while the arguments for it succeed.

In my 34 years of working with Catholic couples, I have observed seven major conflicts that create severe marital stress. The good news is that these weaknesses can be overcome.

Those who seek to deconstruct marriage today are, it is true, more clever than their predecessors. Their promises are more seductive. And they sometimes seem unstoppable. However, I am confident that they too will fail.

As wives, we want whats best for our husbands. As mothers, we want whats best for our kids. One of the best ways to accomplish both of these things is to help our husbands to be better fathers.