SL Column
Lent: A Marriage Make-over Opportunity
Lent – the annual invitation to lean in closer to the Lord in our pursuit of holiness through fasting, prayer and almsgiving. This year, we’re looking to do something together to grow both in faith and love. It’s typical to approach Lent as individuals, each of us committing to our own plan of renewal. Yet our marriage vocation reminds us that being…
Read MoreRomance and Mystery
One of the things that makes a new romance so exciting and attractive is the element of uncertainty: Is this person really interested in me? Will this person really be the one I’ve longed for? We can all relate to the thrill of the start-up relationship where the other is essentially still a stranger…
Read MoreTogether with Purpose
The theme for Marriage Week prompts us to reflect – what is our purpose as a couple? Are we together merely by luck, or is there something more? It’s not uncommon to hear people refer to couples in long-lasting marriages as ‘lucky’. It’s as if marital longevity is a roll of the dice, like winning…
Read MoreHoly Spouses – Holy Family
The Church has long valued the spousal dimension of Mary and Joseph’s relationship. It encourages us to see marriage not just as a social institution for the purpose of raising children, but as a divine calling to personal holiness through service to each other. We’ve all heard of major Marian feasts like the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption,…
Read MoreHabit Makers, Habit Breakers
Do your evenings ever disappear into the couch, your phone, and a half-watched Netflix show? We realised ours had—and something important was quietly missing. In this post, we explore how small, intentional rituals can transform ordinary routines into meaningful couple time… without adding another thing to your to-do list. Lately, we’ve slipped into a not-so-good…
Read MoreResolutions to Have and to Hold
It’s a new year, a new beginning. Among all the goal setting, consider what you can do to transform your marriage. Have you ever noticed that New Year resolutions often have a repentance nature? Resolutions such as ‘to drink less’ or ‘to give up smoking’ directly identify behaviours we readily associate with vice. Even those…
Read MoreBlessed be the (Relationally) Poor
Embracing the Call to Love in an age of relational poverty. Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te (Latin: I have loved you, Rev 3:9), reminds us that faith and love for the poor are inextricably linked. He writes, “We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith…
Read MoreLove in the Waiting
Advent is the season of waiting; we wait in anticipation of the coming of Christ. But are we the only ones doing the waiting? I (Francine) was hurrying to get out the door for 7am Mass. I looked at the time on the car clock and sighed in defeat: 6:58. There was no way…
Read MoreA Real-World Advent
Fasting from devices to make room in our hearts and homes Halfway through a supermarket dash last week, Francine’s watch alarm began buzzing insistently – the pavlova in the oven was done. Reaching for her phone, realisation hit – her digital lifeline was still at home! Juggling the imminent arrival of family for…
Read MoreThe Honey-Do List Standoff
How do you get your husband to do the household jobs you really care about? How to do you get your wife to stop nagging and micromanaging? These are questions to which almost every couple across the globe can relate; the never completed ‘To Do list’ wives prepare for their ‘honey’ on the…
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