Posts by Francine & Byron Pirola
Words 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
Read MoreEngaged Online Goes Live
There’s great excitement here as we activate SmartLoving Engaged Online for public access. We’ve been working on the platform for three months and are very pleased with the result. There are still a few things for us sort out and no doubt lots of troubleshooting challenges in the days ahead, which is why we are…
Read MoreQuit Brooding!
Part 2 of It Takes One to Tango You are dissatisfied with your marriage. Your spouse may or may not share your disillusionment. Your spouse may or may not be willing to work with you towards a more loving, intimate connection. But without him/her, there’s not a lot you can do to improve your situation,…
Read MoreThree 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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