Together again… for stronger and better

By Francine & Byron Pirola | November 1, 2024

Contrary to popular belief, separation does not always end in divorce. Well supported, the process of separation can help a couple address their problems and…

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Power of Prayer

By Francine & Byron Pirola | October 25, 2024

Prayer does not change God, it does not always change the situation, but it does change the heart of the person praying. Many people do…

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Sexual Integrity in a Messed-up World

By Francine & Byron Pirola | October 18, 2024

Last month we convened a national symposium to explore how we, as a church community, might pastorally respond more effectively to those impacted by pornography.…

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Three Tips for Trust

By Francine & Byron Pirola | October 11, 2024

Relationships thrive when trust is strong. But how do we build it in the first instance, and then recover it if we’ve lost it? Here…

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Marriage or Matrimony?

By Francine & Byron Pirola | October 4, 2024

People call a lot of relationships ‘marriage’. Everything from cohabitation (common law marriage) to civil contracts (secular marriage) to the Judeo-Christian concept of covenant. In…

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Making marriage last is all in the Intention

By Francine & Byron Pirola | September 27, 2024

No matter how easy it may seem to fall in love, staying in love requires attention and effort. We all start out in marriage bright…

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The Ecology of the Body

By Francine & Byron Pirola | September 20, 2024

When we were preparing for marriage some decades ago, we undertook training in Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs). As graduates in biological science, we got right…

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Deep Impact Conversations

By Francine & Byron Pirola | September 13, 2024

“How was your day?” It’s one of the most common questions couples ask each other and either leads to a dead-end response like, “fine” or…

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Unplanned Childlessness

By Francine & Byron Pirola | September 6, 2024

“My daughters are in their thirties. They always hoped to marry and planned to be starting a family by now. It is so hard to…

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Our Father-in-Awe

By Francine & Byron Pirola | August 30, 2024

Earlier this week, Francine had a routine medical procedure. Predictably, one of the nurses asked, “Are you related to Professor Pirola?” She was referring to…

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Married Saints There’s Hope for Us Yet

Married Saints: There’s Hope for Us Yet!

By Francine & Byron Pirola | August 23, 2024

As Catholics, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the REALLY holy people are only religious celibates. Afterall, most of the canonized…

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The Art of Apology

By Francine & Byron Pirola | August 16, 2024

Have you ever experienced the situation when someone has apologised but, while the words were said it lacked something, making it difficult for you to…

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Seven years – but who’s counting?

By Francine & Byron Pirola | August 9, 2024

Some time ago, we were chatting with a man in his late twenties. He had been living with his girlfriend for some years, and she…

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Burn the Boats

By Francine & Byron Pirola | August 2, 2024

A recent analysis of modern day wedding vows reveal around a third of couples shunning the traditional commitment for life. According to the results, 34%…

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God is close to the lonely

By Francine & Byron Pirola | July 25, 2024

 Towards the end of July we celebrate World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. This year (2024) the theme is loneliness and references Ps 71:9…

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