Checklist for Courtship by Fr. Smith

Before courting, be certain that:

1) Both persons love God with whole heart, whole soul, whole mind, and whole strength.

2) Both persons love their neighbors as themselves and understand that one’s spouse is a very close neighbor indeed

3) Both persons love God more than they love any neighbor, including the beloved prospective spouses

4) Both persons assist at Mass EVERY Sunday AND Holy Day (and if they can not attend daily Mass, they appreciate its worth and pray that at some point they will be daily Communicants)

5) Both persons agree on obedience to the Pope, on the nature of the requirements placed on the laity by Vatican II, and on the absolute necessity to belong to the Catholic Church in order to be saved

6) Neither person falls into hypocrisy regarding adherence to the Fatima Message; much has been lamented about the Popes’ failure to consecrate Russia to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart as she instructed, but the Blessed Virgin Mary also expects all Catholics to:

A) Pray the Rosary EVERY day

B) Wear the Brown Scapular at all times

C) Dress modestly and maintain purity of heart, mind, and body

7) Both persons desire children as the primary good of their matrimonial union

8) Both persons absolutely reject contraception, whether by chemicals, by surgery, by abortion, by prophylactics, by devices, by unnatural acts, or by a disordered will

9) Both persons are wholly committed to purity of thought, word, and deed; this pertains especially to the man in regard to wandering eyes, profanity in language, and pornography; and to the woman in regard to wardrobe, make-up, and hairstyle

10) Both persons utterly reject the possibility of divorce, understand what an annulment is, and are entirely certain that the bond they establish will be effected by them and their Priest in such a way as to make divorce, annulment, or separation unthinkable

11) the man is ready and willing to be the head of the family by spiritual leadership, the head of the family by being the sole breadwinner, and the head of the family by commanding in keeping with the virtues of humility, meekness, and charity with the goal of perfection for himself and his family always in mind

12) The woman is ready and willing to be the heart of the family by obeying her husband in adhering to the fullness of the Faith, the heart of the family by making a home wherein her husband and children feel eager to serve God in one another, and the heart of the family by encouraging and supporting each member in the pursuit of sanctity above and before all other desires (see #1)

DO NOT ASK HER FATHER’S HAND BEFORE THIS LIST IS COMPLETE

DO NOT PROPOSE TO HER BEFORE THIS LIST IS COMPLETE

DO NOT SET A DATE BEFORE THIS LIST IS COMPLETE

DO NOT DESIGN A DRESS, RENT A RECEPTION HALL, OR ARRANGE

WITNESSES BEFORE THIS LIST IS COMPLETE

DO NOT LET HIM KISS YOU BEFORE THIS LIST IS COMPLETE