Family
Finding Our Way to Heaven
We’ve been listening to Mike and Alicia Hernon’s podcast called Messy Families. One of their recurring messages for parents is: stop worrying about getting your kids to heaven – parenting is about helping you get there! When we first heard them say this it stopped us in our tracks. Mike and Lisa go on to…
Read MoreThe Light of Bethlehem Heals
More than any other time of year, Christmas connects us with powerful childhood memories. For some, these are joyful: for many however, the memories are tinged with grief. Remembering Most of us have lovely memories of Christmas from our childhood: the excitement of gifts under the tree, beautiful liturgies, magical store displays and the movie…
Read More#20 The Good the Bad and the Ugly of Holiday Traditions
Whether it’s Christmas, Easter, Mothers/Fathers day, birthdays or Thanksgiving… holiday traditions can be a source of blessing or of grief. With our guest we unpack the traditions that have worked – and failed – for us and discussed strategies for being intentional in how we create our family culture. Guest: Kiara is the mother of…
Read More#19 Transition to Parenthood
The transition to parenthood is a challenge for all couples but for a couple that experienced almost a decade of infertility the change from being a married couple with no kids, to parenthood can be a dramatic shift in their identities and relationship. In this podcast Laura and Joseph Cain share their rollercoaster of marriage,…
Read MoreThe Bethlehem Prayer
Through an imaginative encounter with the Holy Family at Bethlehem, God offers consolation and healing for our Family of Origin wounds. It’s very normal when exploring our Family of Origin to surface some pain or hurt. This might express itself in a sense of loss at what could have been, or a sense of not…
Read More#15 Passing on the Faith
Passing on the faith to our children is complicated for modern parents. In this episode, Francine explores some strategies and practical tips with young mother, Kiara Black – who also happens to be her daughter! Guest: Kiara is the mother of three toddlers and a long-time contributor to CathFamily – a free online database…
Read More#14 The Talk
It’s seems that having ‘the sex talk’ with our young tweens is getting more complicated with every generation. For Catholic parents, the presence of cultural forces that contradict our values can feel overwhelming. Join Francine as she explores the topic with puberty education expert Karen Doyle. Guest: Karen Doyle is the co-founder of Choicez Media…
Read MoreThe Science, Art and Spirit of Communication
Communication is fundamental to our relationships and the flourishing of families. If we want to do it well, there is a science, art and spirit to communication. We all like to think of ourselves as good communicators. Unfortunately, what that usually means is: I have lots to say and I’m not afraid to say it!…
Read MoreAttention Deficit Marriages
In a fast-paced world, our attention is a rare and valuable commodity. Is your marriage suffering from attention deficit? True confession: some evenings you’ll find us sitting on the couch with the TV playing and us both on our laptops or other individual devices. We know; it’s not particularly noble and we have a sense…
Read MoreThe Family as Key Evangeliser
We were struck recently by an old quote that somehow felt like a timely reminder to us as we progress through Lent: “The Church doesn’t have a mission: the Mission has a Church”. In 1975, Pope Paul Vi published Evangelium Nuntiandi in which he declared that “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper…
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