Search Results: lent
Lent: the ultimate change-maker
Like most people, our optimistic resolutions for the New Year tend to fizzle out before the end of January. Thankfully, Lent gives us another, and a better, chance of success. Here are three ways to give our marriages a Lenten make-over based on three traditional practices – fasting, prayer and almsgiving. 1: Fast… from criticism…
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Stonewalling: A Silent Killer in Marriage
Stonewalling – aka ‘the silent treatment’ – is common in many marriages. Never helpful and poorly understood, we ignore it at our risk. Stonewalling is the practice of withdrawing from an interaction, shutting down and closing ourselves off from the other. We may be physically still present, but we become un-responsive, emotionally withdrawn, and non-communicative.…
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Criticism: the not-so-silent killer
Criticism kills. It undermines our confidence and corrodes relationship trust. In relationship research, it is identified as one of four destructive relationship habits. We’ve all experienced the negative impact of criticism, especially from loved ones. Sadly, it’s been present in our marriage and family far too often. Most of our criticism originates in a complaint.…
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Best Lent Ever…For Your Spouse!
While lots of people make resolutions for the New Year, most of these optimistic beginnings fizzle out before the end of January. Thankfully, Lent gives we Christians another, and a better, chance of success. One year, about two decades ago, a close friend of ours shared with us how she decided to give up blame…
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Something worth dying for – Saint Valentine’s Day
On February 14 every year, couples around the world celebrate one of the heroes of Catholic history. As the story goes, Valentine was a Roman priest who married young couples in secret despite the decree of Emperor Claudius II forbidding all weddings. The emperor did this to more readily recruit young, unattached men into his armies. Valentine was discovered, arrested and eventually executed. St Valentine didn’t officiate secret weddings simply out of compassion for local, love-struck…
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From Valentine to Valen-TIME
With St Valentine’s day approaching, couples everywhere are looking for ways to mark the day with romance. From love-struck dating couples to couples stressed out with kids, every one of us struggles to find time to… Just. Be. Together. Insufficient time together is one of the biggest contributors to relationship breakdown. Whether our relationship is…
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St Valentine and Revolutionary Marriage
It’s St Valentine’s day next week. This year, it coincides with Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and a traditional day for penance and fasting. Oh dear! What to do?! Some think this is a pity; normally we focus on romance and joy for the lover’s feast and it’s hard to do that on…
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Celebrating Saint Valentine
Bulletin Advertisment A Message for Married Couples on St Valentine’s Day God does not call us to mediocrity. God calls us to be a radical witness; to bring alive within our marriage the passionate love and extravagant mercy he has for every human person. God calls us to live this reality within our own marriage…
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St Valentines Day 2017
For almost a decade, the Australian Catholic Marriage & Family Council has produced a printable flyer for use on the Sunday before St Valentine’s Day. This year, The Parish & Marriage Resource Centre is pleased to take up this task. Why the fuss about St Valentine? It’s true, St Valentine is a ‘minor’ saint in…
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Three Ways to Do Lent
Lent is one of our favourite seasons in the Church calendar; for a decent period (but not an interminable one), we get to do a bit of spiritual spring cleaning. It’s the perfect prompt to give the boot to bad habits and pick up better ones. And it comes with some spiritual superpower assistance. Here…
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