Perpetual courtship is the secret too many husbands forget. Perpetual means ongoing, unbroken, never-ending. Courtshipis the pursuit of love—the acts of attention, sacrifice, and desire that move a man and woman toward marriage. Put the two together and you see the call: a husband must never stop courting his bride. The wedding day is not the finish line. It is the starting line for a lifetime of pursuit. When a man forgets this, his marriage grows stale. When he practices perpetual courtship, romance stays alive, love deepens, and intimacy blossoms.
God Himself designed marriage for this kind of lifelong pursuit. In the Sacrament of Matrimony, God pours out graces to bind a man and woman together in permanent, unbreakable unity (CCC 1641–1643). Conjugal love—the yoking together of husband and wife—carries great blessings: deep unity, faithfulness, mutual self-giving, joy, and intimacy (CCC 2390, 1643–1647). When courtship ends, boredom and alienation creep in. But when you continue to court your wife, you build on the very purpose of marriage itself: to love, to be faithful, and to help each other grow in holiness. Jesus makes this clear when He says, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mt 19:6). God joins you together, and perpetual courtship keeps you together.
Your action step is to begin living perpetual courtship today. Remember how you courted her before marriage: the pursuit, the words, the touches, the planning, the effort. Start again. Tell her often, “I love you.” Call her by names of affection. Plan a date and make it thoughtful. Hold her hand, open her door, protect her, and praise her. Think of her as the woman you are still pursuing—not the woman you already “won.” Practice this daily. The habit of perpetual courtship will transform your marriage.
Pray: Holy Spirit, give me the Virtue of Charity so I may never grow lazy in loving my wife, but instead pursue her with joy, faithfulness, and romance all the days of our life together. Amen.