“Just in case you think romantic dinners or walks on the beach together will make you happier in your marriage, you may be reading the wrong guidebook. Try a Bible,” began a recent post on USA Today’s Faith & Reason blog.

“Couples that study Scripture, pray and attend church together are significantly more likely to say they are happy or extremely happy in their marriage, according to new research in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

“Likewise, duos who don’t agree on religious beliefs or practice the same faith together tend to be less happy in their marriage, regardless of race or ethnicity, says W. Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor and director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.”

This is also what the Catholic Church has always taught. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes, in 1661, “The sacrament of matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life.”