Meanwhile, in Široki-Brijeg

[temporal1]

Široki-Brijeg, Bosnia-Herzegovina

NCR / Nobody In This City of 30,000 Has Ever Been Divorced — Here’s Their Secret
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-cit ... ut-divorce

There is a town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, I am told, which is part of the Balkan Peninsula, called Široki-Brijeg, where no one in living memory has ever been divorced. About 30,000 souls inhabit the place, nearly all of whom are Catholic.

How can this possibly be in a world where, even among professed Catholics, so many marriages fail?
What is it that makes this town so different?
Is it something in the water supply?

No, it is not. Nor is it the result of any sort of law forbidding couples to divorce.
Because there are no such laws. People who marry in Široki-Brijeg have not been schooled by the State into seeing the union of man and woman as a life sentence. There is no penal code, in other words, in which the compliance of married couples is required.
The exchange of vows at the altar is not to be confused with the ritual of the hangman placing a noose around the neck of a condemned prisoner. If there is to be any bending of the will, it will not be the result of anyone other than the couple themselves.

So, what is it that keeps these couples together?
It is the fruit of a fixed attitude of free and complete submission to Jesus Christ, whose Cross unites at the deepest level every aspect of their lives. So that, for all the differences dividing them, they nevertheless remain deeply committed to a life of mutual self-giving love.

In short, it is a life centered entirely upon Christ and his Cross, on which he freely chose to hang for the world’s salvation. .. ..

.. It is not an option, the couples of Široki-Brijeg are saying, to live like this. It is the only way to live.
To live each day from the reality of an already deeply intimate participation in the life of Christ, allowing him to live now in us.

Faith in Christ, therefore, which serves as a springboard for the promised fidelity to one another, is no longer an ideal to which one strives haplessly to conform; it is the very center from which they find themselves already living.

And, yes, there is much joy — and not a little laughter — amid a life shared in that Christ-centered way.

The OP request is for respectful, not critical, not passive-aggressive swipes, instead, prayers and encouragement for better understanding of how to choose committed marriage, as God designed, rather than the pain and trauma of divorce.

Education about marriage and raising children begins soon after birth, it’s a lengthy process that lasts throughout life.
Thousands+thousands of messages, spoken and unspoken, contribute to each one’s marriage-family education.

It begins in the home+church.
In healthy cultures, it’s valued, modeled and encouraged in everyday life.

[temporal1]

TFP Student Action / The City with ZERO Divorce Rate: Want Success Formula? / 4:30min

Description:
It sounds too good to be true, but there’s a city in the world that has a zero divorce rate.
And near the end of this video, you will see the successful formula that has kept marriages together for generations.
More than a formula, it’s a beautiful prayer and a profound Catholic culture that can help restore the family today.

In the U.S., the divorce rate is staggering.
Close to 50% of marriages fall apart. On top of that, there are illicit unions, couples that shack up, not to mention same-sex counterfeit unions that masquerade as marriage. The family is under attack. And moral values have been torn to bits.

But — lo and behold! — despite the moral crisis, there’s a city where the marriage bond is so strong that there’s no record of divorce.

The city is Siroki-Brijeg located in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The city’s 26,000 inhabitants of Croatian origin are familiar with adversity.
They had to defend their Catholic Faith during the Muslim invasion in the 15th Century.
Their Faith was tested again when the country fell under the boot of atheistic communism.

Trusted sources report that, “Siroki-Brijeg is remarkable … for in the collective memory of all there has never been a single divorce among the Croatian Catholics of the city.”

How do you explain such a remarkable thing?

First, the population of the city is almost 100% Catholic, and they live their faith seriously.
They consider it a point of honor to defend the indissolubility of marriage and the monogamous family. That means marriage is the sacred union between a man and a woman—as stated in the country’s Constitution.

However, what marks this profound religious attitude is that they see marriage as a cross, united with the Cross of Christ.
This helps the spouses live their union without romanticism, false expectations, or whimsical illusions.
Realistically, we live in a valley of tears. Everyone has defects. And there’s no mutual understanding without the mutual exercise of patience.

This Catholic understanding of marriage is what prevents divorce and separations.
However, this attitude of fidelity is expressed in a beautiful custom. During their married life, the spouses find strength by praying together before the crucifix, a special crucifix they receive on their wedding day.

In the wedding ceremony, the priest blesses the crucifix presented by the bride and groom. He places the bride’s right hand on the crucifix, then that of the groom upon hers, and covers them with a stole. The couple then makes their vows with their hands clasping the crucifix. The priest tells them they have found the ideal “partner” with whom they must share their lives.

He says:
“You have found your cross! It is a cross that you must love and take with you every day of your lives. Know how to appreciate it.”

After kissing the cross, the spouses enthrone it in their home.

When trials, misunderstandings, disagreements and difficulties common to all marriages arise, both spouses kneel before the crucifix and with unwavering faith ask for strength to endure them, because Our Lord’s yoke “is easy, and His burden, light.” This attitude is consistent with the belief that the cross will give them strength to overcome their daily trials.

The spouses are aware that if one abandons the other, they will abandon Christ. And the source of perseverance comes from the Cross of Christ rather than external factors.

The children of these strong unions learn how to venerate the family crucifix and direct their early prayers to the cross.

These Catholics learn how to practice, from an early age, that which the immortal Portuguese author Luis de Camões already celebrates with the words:

“Thou, who carefully looks for rest in this tempestuous sea of the world, do not expect to find any rest
except in Jesus Christ crucified.”

[RZehr]

Wow!