Married Couples
SmartLoving
Loving the way my fiancé likes to be loved Every person experiences love in a unique way. Some gestures of love will more powerfully communicate love to you than others. For example, some people feel close and connected when they can physically touch the other person. Others demonstrate love through words of affirmation or affection,…
Read MoreLove as Gift
In our culture, ‘love’ is generally seen to be an ‘emotion’. We fall into love and we fall out of it. Love is something that just happens to us; we can’t help falling in and out of love. In fact, ‘love’ is a choice. True love is a conscious, deliberate choice to make a gift…
Read MoreTo Cherish and Respect
Each of you, however, should love [agape] his wife as himself, and let every wife respect her husband. Eph 5:33 When St Paul wrote these words 2000 years ago he was keenly aware of the differences between the sexes and so he deliberately gave husbands and wives different instructions on how to live a successful…
Read MoreIn the Image of God
Created Male & Female Our masculinity and femininity are completely integrated with our personhood. They are stamped into our spirituality, hard-wired into our brains, ingrained in our personality and manifested in and through every part of our bodies. “So God created humankind in his image” Gen 1:27 To be human, is to be sexual. Our physiological…
Read MoreOn a Mission to Love
Every couple wants to avoid divorce and get along without too many fights. A successful marriage however, is much more than just this; it is a life-long union in which both spouses flourish as individuals and enjoy a deep and passionate intimacy. Thinking only in terms of ‘avoiding divorce’ is very limited. It’s rather like…
Read MoreFrancis: Three Magic Words
Three Magic Words On St Valentine’s Day this year, Pope Francis gathered with 20,000 Engaged Couples to encourage them in their journey. Reflecting on the ‘art’ of married life, Francis noted that it is “a patient, beautiful and fascinating journey” which doesn’t end when we win over each other’s heart. On the contrary it is…
Read MoreThree Magic Words
Three Magic Words On St Valentine’s Day this year, Pope Francis gathered with 20,000 Engaged Couples to encourage them in their journey. Reflecting on the ‘art’ of married life, Francis noted that it is “a patient, beautiful and fascinating journey” which doesn’t end when we win over each other’s heart. On the contrary it is…
Read MoreThe One Flesh Union
It can be hard to get our heads around the amazing gift that Jesus made of himself by dying on the cross for our salvation. We are told that it was a personal sacrifice, that if we were the only one in need, he would have still gone through with it – his love for…
Read MoreMaking Fun is Serious Business
Counsellors and educators often talk about the importance of fun in a marriage. For those of us raising families, couple fun is one of the first casualties in the busy family schedule. Enter the Couple Project! – a great way to put fun back on the agenda with these multiple benefits: Time together. This is…
Read MoreNatural Fertility – The Vision
Being married in the Catholic Church is both a challenge and a privilege. Unlike secular marriage, Catholic couples are called to a radical lifestyle of total self-giving to each other; a lifestyle that goes against many of the expectations of our contemporary society which glorifies personal fulfilment and enshrines individuality. These social expectations are especially…
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