Relationship Tips
Honest Talk about Physical Intimacy – Messy Family Podcast
The sexual intimacy we share as spouses is both wonderful and complicated!
Read MoreSay a little prayer for marriage
In October a few years ago, the Australian bishops called the entire Catholic community to pray for marriage and family. The initiative was joined by around thirty other Christian churches making it the largest ever prayer campaign in the nation. It raises the question: does prayer really make a difference? Cynics might say that a…
Read MoreSomething worth dying for – Saint Valentine’s Day
On February 14 every year, couples around the world celebrate one of the heroes of Catholic history. As the story goes, Valentine was a Roman priest who married young couples in secret despite the decree of Emperor Claudius II forbidding all weddings. The emperor did this to more readily recruit young, unattached men into his armies. Valentine was discovered, arrested and eventually executed. St Valentine didn’t officiate secret weddings simply out of compassion for local, love-struck…
Read MoreJoyfully Married…Sometimes
Advent is a season of penance in preparation for the Lord’s coming; not the first coming which we celebrate on Christmas Day (his birthday), but the second coming at an unknown time. Thus, the readings during this period reference the coming of Christ in glory (“Stay Awake!”) and call for repentance in preparation. In Australia,…
Read MoreThe Names we use Matter
Our second granddaughter finally has a name. Born over a month ago, her parents took their sweet, merry time before committing it to official record. In the interim, this bonny lass (her father is of Irish-Scottish descent) ‘tried on’ a dozen names before the right fit was found. Her name, Theresa Mairead, links her to…
Read MoreNo Jerks Allowed!
Quiz people about the qualities that make a lousy spouse and things emerge like being a liar, secretive, disrespectful, selfish, temper prone, unforgiving. Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, almost of all of us will have been at some stage a little bit selfish, a tad temperamental, a wincey bit disrespectful. According to John…
Read MoreHabit Makers, Habit Breakers
Lately, we’ve slipped into a not-so-good habit. After dinner, and after all the normal stuff is done, we collapse onto the couch in front of the TV. We settle into our various devices – answering emails, prepping for meetings the next day or updating our SmartLoving social media accounts. Before we know it, a couple…
Read MorePandemic Weddings – Keeping our Eye on What Matters
For those who had a wedding planned this year, the disruption imposed by Covid19 has created all sorts of complications, frustration and additional expense. Last week, a young man from New Zealand called us. His fiancé lives in Canada and neither country will permit the other to enter for a wedding. Fortunately, they discovered that they could meet in France, get married there, and…
Read MoreSex – more than just an activity
Almost everything around us – movies, magazines, social media, even our friends and relatives – approach sex as something we ‘do’. In other words, sex is seen primarily as an activity. There are serious implications for this mindset. If sex is merely something we ‘do’, it can be reduced to an action we do to…
Read MoreThe Science of Falling in Love
Falling in love is a common experience and a wonderful one. It sweeps us up in a euphoric passion that dominates our thoughts day and night. But is there more to it than simple emotions? Romantic love, and its impact on us, has been the subject of study for millennia. Philosophers from ancient times have mused on it, theologians have divined it and poets have waxed…
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