Personally, I feel that marriage and family are virtuous institutions to be aspired to for human flourishing. Indeed, I would note that, in Genesis 2: 18, the first observation God makes concerning human nature is "It is not good for man to be alone."

However, when I was attempting to work with my parish to form a singles group, I was met with considerable pushback from a vocal group of Catholics who feel strongly that it IS GOOD for man to be alone, citing 1 Corinthians: 8-9. "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."

This group of Catholics seems to view marriage as more of a necessary evil than a good until itself. They seem to think it's a concession to keep people who have already met from falling into debauchery, but that it's better if men and women never meet and become attracted to one another at all. As someone who has been alone my whole life, I can tell you it certainly does not FEEL good, but what do I know? Anyway, I'm curious as to what you guys think.