Thinking of marriage soon
Me and my gf have been together 3 years. We’re both Catholic, very in to our faith, and both recognize that church teachings say our marriage is wrong. I’m okay with that. She’s okay with that. Our marriage could never be sacramental. Legally speaking, we lowkey gotta get married. I had my first confession in a while, and it was actually really good. He obviously reminded me church stance, and I filled him in on stuff to fill in the gaps (pray the gay away since I was 10? Tried to date boys. Did date boys. Met my current gf and it was just different). I described my gf to him as the one I’d want holding my hand on my death bed, and that seemed to sink in. But, we talked about civil marriage. It’s impossible to live together in today’s society without marriage, legal rights, tax breaks, etc. Marriage is a commitment with one person I want by my side for the rest of my life. I love this girl. Shes my world. Shes like my other half and I can’t even imagine anyone else in my life I’d want here. I don’t want to offend the church, but I would never do this to “defy God,” or the “Natural Law.” My childhood religious guilt and so on had made it impossible to feel comfortable in the idea I want to propose. Any advice would help. Sorry if this is all over the place - it’s quite reflective of my mind lol. Thanks.