Posts by Francine & Byron Pirola
Knot Yet! #5: Responsibility Phobia
What comes first, maturity or the responsibility? In the world of adultescence, the absence of the necessity to be responsible, delays maturity. Most of us look back at adolesence and shiver – it’s a tough time developmentally when the young person is reaching for independence but doesn’t quite have the mental resources to cope with adulthood. Many…
Read MoreMarriage Nomads
We’ve been reading a book on the writings of St John of the Cross and in one section the author talks about perseverance in the ‘Nomad Culture’. St John was a Spanish Carmelite in the fifteenth century so we were confused by this reference to Nomad Culture – it didn’t sound like he was talking…
Read MoreLike Father, Like Mother
In our household, the traditional stereotypes of father as disciplinarian and mother as comforter don’t describe us very well and that’s probably a good thing. However, we do tend to parent quite differently. Byron is more likely to provide study or career planning advice, and to engage with the children around sport. He’s more likely…
Read MoreWords to make her smile
[Disclaimer: we take no responsibility for the advice tendered in this column unless husbands read it to the end. :-)] A few weeks ago, Francine came across a blog post by Shaunti Feldhahn in which she described for men how to cut above the noise to really, truly communicate their love to their wife. It…
Read MoreVideo: Breaking Through
When you feel stuck in your marriage, unable to move forward, we call it relationship gridlock. Accumulated hurts keep you both stuck in resentment and defensive. Sometimes it feels like your only choice is to stay and be miserable or leave and start again. But there is another way… Find out about the BreakThrough Online…
Read MoreNewsflash: Pope says sex is ‘a gift from God’
In Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), Pope Francis writes extensively about many aspects of marriage and family life. In it is a section that is dedicated to affirming the sexual relationship of the married couple as good and holy. Saint John Paul II wrote extensively about the sacredness of marital love making. In this…
Read MoreMaking the Connection…with Arguments
Neither of us likes it when we disagree, yet we’ve had more than a few in our 28 years of marriage – some of them leading to horrible arguments. When disagreements descend into arguments, they usually become hurtful and unproductive, leaving us feeling bitter and exhausted. But are arguments all bad, or always harmful? Many…
Read MoreCouples on probation!
Why cohabitation doesn’t work Don’t get us started…there are SO many reasons why cohabitation is a bad idea, we could go on for pages! In this post– we want to focus on one: the probation factor. In case you’re wondering, the evidence is quite clear: cohabitation doesn’t ‘divorce-proof’ a subsequent marriage – it actually increases…
Read MoreThe Marriage Kit: Why Marry?
Couples marry for all sorts of reasons, but one of the almost universal expectations of couples is that marriage will make them happy. It is after all a dominant emotion of the romance experience. But is this really what marriage is for? In this short video we explore happiness and the true purpose of marriage.…
Read MoreDate Claimer: Renaissance of Marriage 2016
Mark your calendars! Friday Oct 21- Sunday Oct 23 | Sydney, Australia International and National Speakers including Christopher West For Catholic marriage educators, clergy, marriage mentors, counsellors, ministers and couples To Register for updates, visit MRC
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