LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "A marriage is on the rocks when the lines of communication fail. You can´t have an effective relationship if either one of you won´t discuss your feelings, can´t talk about your mutual or personal issues, will keep your resentments simmering under wraps, and expect your partner to guess what the whole problem is about," Panse says.

In addition, marriages fail "because people rarely discuss their expectations in detail prior to marriage, are less willing to work on their marriages afterwords, and would like quick solutions rather than having to resolve issues. People have gotten divorced for trivial reasons like snoring."

Panse adds that people who come from broken homes are more likely to head to divorce court than those who do not. "Divorce seems less like a big deal if you have seen your parents go through with it."

Going against modern rationale is the fact that "people who cohabit before marriage have higher rates of divorce than people who didn´t cohabit before marriage," Panse says.

"In many cases, quite a few of the problems that cause divorce have existed in the couple´s relationship long before they got married. The problems were either not acknowledged or were ignored in the fond hope that marriage might offer a miraculous panacea. And, guess what, it doesn´t. Nobody can make you feel better about yourself and you can´t change and save anybody," Panse says.