Romantic Love: Feeling or Choice?

From Hollywood to Cleo, the cultural representations of Romantic Love are clear: it’s a spontaneous feeling of attraction and affection for another. And like all feelings, we don’t choose it: it’s something that just happens to us. We spontaneously ‘fall’ into love and we are powerless to prevent it. To be sure when it strikes,…

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Couples need a village too

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It takes a village  The saying: “It takes a village to raise a child”, resonates deeply with us. No parent, no matter how attentive, capable and loving, can adequately raise a child on his or her own. Two parents can do better, but they will still fall short.  We’ve seen this in our own family. Our children need…

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Porn free, not free porn

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The destructive ubiquitousness of porn: It is not a pleasant topic but we need to get serious about addressing the negative impact of pornography on our society and our relationships. When the western world went into lockdown, one of the biggest porn providers made global headlines when it offered free porn for a month. When…

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Facing the ‘Now what?’ Moments

Our online Mass experience last Sunday took us somewhere a little different. Attending virtual Mass with Fr Rob Galea based in Bendigo and musician Matt Maher in Tennessee gave us a global encounter of the world-wide church. Celebrating the Assumption, Fr Rob noted how the apostles’ journey with Christ was a series of ‘now what?’…

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Projects for Lockdown Couples

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A few months ago, most couples would have dismissed the idea of a couple project as simply a cute idea for which there was no real need. With Netflix over-exposure and tiring of social media and gaming sessions, couple projects are back on the menu of couple entertainment.  Couple Projects make a come back  A…

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Finding a different path to fruitfulness

Photo by Joe Yates on Unsplash|Jenny Brinkworth|Life to the Full Cover|Debra and Tony Vermeer

Book Review By Jenny Brinkworth With one in six Australian couples experiencing infertility, a new book by Debra Vermeer will be a welcome resource for Catholic couples. When Catholic convert and respected journalist Debra Vermeer was grappling with the reality that she and her husband Tony could not conceive a child, she found the shelves…

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Video: Many Voices, One Promise

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This is a magnificent tribute to the glorious commitment that is marriage. Drawn from multiple cultural and religious traditions, the video celebrates and honours the beauty of the marriage commitment. It is one of a series from Humanum Enjoy!

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Closing the Gap on Marital Distancing

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There’s been quite a bit of talk around the increase in marital tension associated with the lock down conditions. Counselling services have rushed to set up online options and law enforcement reports an uptick in restraining orders.  What’s going on? This is not the time for a global marital crisis!  Normally, we’d say that one of the principle contributors to marriage stress…

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Are you ready for marriage?

ready to get engaged||Should we get Engaged?||

So, you’ve been dating for a while. How do you know if you’re ready for marriage? Before you have the ‘forever conversation’, consider these signs to discern if you are ready to commit, should wait a little longer, or should quit now. Marriage Readiness Check List 1: Self-growth You help each other to be better…

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