Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1515510
DENVER CATHOLIC | FEB-MAR 2024 I s there an app for that? Today, it seems that apps and technology have given us many ways to improve our lives, including through planning, scheduling and finding the right person for the job. AI is proving valuable for many human tasks. But could an app help find the perfect spouse? Dating apps may help find a romantic partner, even one with similar likes and dislikes, but the process of discernment of marriage is uniquely human and cannot be outsourced to technology or AI. Discernment of marriage is a complex process of evalu- ation and consideration of many factors. It's important to find someone with similar interests, likes, and values for a strong and healthy marriage. But this is not all there is to discernment of marriage. First, every individual must ask a fundamental question: Is God calling me to married life? Mar- riage is a life-long vocation. The vocation of each individual, whether to the priesthood, the diaconate, religious life, the single life, or married life, is a unique invitation by God to embark on the road to holiness and ultimately reach heaven. Each vocation is designed to lead the person to greater holiness and to fulfill the unique plan that God has for each one of us. Does God want me to grow in holiness and find my purpose in life through the vocation of marriage? Every- one must discern and answer this question for himself or herself. Once this specific question has been answered, there is still much discernment to do. Even if I know that God is calling me to married life, the individual choice of a spouse requires more particular discern- ment. Can I imagine myself waking up next to this person for the rest of my life? Can I foresee being committed to this person for the rest of my life, no matter what? Can I see myself being faithful to this person alone, for the rest of my life? These are the difficult questions which must be answered by each individual. This process of finding the right person to marry and considering whether this person would make a good spouse is fraught with many difficulties stemming from the fact that we are fallible creatures who cannot see the future. If I could see the future, it would be easier to discern whether I want to be united to this other person for the rest of my life. However, life has a way of throwing curveballs which cannot be anticipated. That said, these cur- veballs do not necessarily doom a relationship. ⊲ 21