Reflecting on a year

Chris and I took a few weeks of break from discussing our difficult church matters, but the occasion of our one year dating anniversary sparked it again. Our relationship can't budge until we figure this conundrum out. We're almost at the point where we have difficulty even enjoying each other's company because the persistent stress of needing to raise children in another church is always out there.

So how do two people who are completely devoted to their churches raise children who are devoted to Christ without the other spouse feeling like the kids are missing out on something? I can imagine teaching my kids about Western saints and some Western traditions, but I want them to be Orthodox. Chris is already feeling the loss of their Holy Week experience, saying that if they're Orthodox they'll never know his Holy Week like he does. (He won't come to most of the services during my Holy Week because he has either already celebrated the resurrection or he has services of his own.) I argue that they'll know a great Holy Week tradition in the Orthodox Church and besides, they can go to both for a while, but it's still a huge issue.

Keep in mind, now, that these children don't yet exist except as figments of our imagination. Also remember that neither of us are allowed to decide to raise our children outside of our churches as a condition of marriage. There must be something else we can do to get past this, because it's really taking a toll on our relationship. If we really love each other, shouldn't we be able to figure something out? If I really love him, should I be willing to raise my children Catholic? Or would I raise them Orthodox because of my love for them? In the end, will it matter which church we've raised them in if our goal is to raise good, Christian people? Will I be able to endure a lifetime of attending Catholic masses that seem empty, pointless, and sometimes heretical?

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.