Empty Nesters
The Catholic Family
In a very real way for Catholics and Christians, ‘church’ is a faith family. Like any family we may like some relatives more than others, but we will still dance at their weddings and cry at their funerals. It is not about being right or better. Like a family, it is simply a special belonging…
Read MoreA Living Sign
It is no coincidence that Christ’s love can be expressed in sexual terms given: His desire to be one with us How passionately he pursues us How he gives his body and allows us to take him inside us He is always fully present and responsive to our needs He intimately knows us His love is…
Read MoreSpiritual Intimacy
It is often difficult for a couple to share their personal faith experiences with each other. This is so for couples of different faith traditions, but is also true even if they are of the same religion. We are trained to avoid talking about religion in polite company because this topic is laden with strong…
Read MoreMarriage or Matrimony?
Are you getting married ‘in the Church’ or simply ‘at a church’? People call a lot of things ‘marriage’. Everything from heterosexual cohabitation (common law marriage) to civil contracts (secular marriage) to the Judeo-Christian concept of covenant. In a Christian marriage there is a desire for the marriage to be open to the Lord and…
Read MoreLiving the Truth in our Bodies
The Moral Difference Some people ask, “If natural fertility methods are so effective, what is the moral difference between them and contraception? After all, the result might be the same – pregnancy is avoided.” As in any moral decision, couples need to consider not just the ‘end’, but also the ‘means’ by which that end…
Read MoreA Vision For Life and Love
In our society there is a strong culture of self-entitlement when it comes to sex. Society tells us that sex is about our individual personal fulfilment and that sexual satisfaction is our right. Rather than helping couples develop deeply intimate and meaningful intimacy, these attitudes lead them into selfish and often disordered sex lives. Scripture…
Read MoreIntentional Lovemaking
Avoiding Pregnancy…confidently If a couple using Natural Fertility Methods wish to avoid a pregnancy at a particular time, they must abstain from intercourse during the time of their combined fertility. The reliability of different birth control methods in avoiding pregnancy is summarised in the appendix on page 5.3. The Billings Ovulation Method, Creighton Method and…
Read MoreOne Flesh Union
The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except perhaps by…
Read MoreRomantic Atmosphere
Sexual atmosphere is a climate of tenderness, openness, responsiveness and generosity that is created when you are attracted out of yourself and allow your masculinity or femininity to be fully alive and active. It’s like a non-verbal communication between you that signals your attraction to and receptivity to each other. You may be tempted to…
Read MoreThe Language of the Body
A sacrament makes visible in a human way something that is invisible or spiritual. In other words, a sacrament images and reveals the mystery of God. Every sacrament has two key aspects which make the sacrament visible: words and gesture (or matter and form in the more technical language of the Church). In marriage, the…
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