Search Results: prayer

Being God’s presence to those we Accompany

By Francine & Byron Pirola / March 22, 2024

Pope Francis has called Catholic communities to accompany couples at various stages. What does accompaniment look like, and is there anything special about a Catholic version? A few years back, our 23-year-old son found himself accompanying a stranger. At the time he was working for a building company that specialised in upgrades and maintenance for…

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Hear Me, Touch Me, Know Me

By Francine & Byron Pirola / March 15, 2024

In relationships, the word ‘intimacy’ is often used as a euphemism for sex, but this is a very narrow and impoverished view. Some people have suggested that the meaning is better encapsulated through its sounds: “in-to-me-see” better captures the idea that intimacy involves the knowledge of the interior life of each other. In any relationship,…

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Lent: the ultimate change-maker

By Francine & Byron Pirola / February 16, 2024

Like most people, our optimistic resolutions for the New Year tend to fizzle out before the end of January. Thankfully, Lent gives us another, and a better, chance of success. Here are three ways to give our marriages a Lenten make-over based on three traditional practices – fasting, prayer and almsgiving. 1: Fast… from criticism…

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Stonewalling: A Silent Killer in Marriage

By Francine & Byron Pirola / February 9, 2024

Stonewalling – aka ‘the silent treatment’ – is common in many marriages. Never helpful and poorly understood, we ignore it at our risk. Stonewalling is the practice of withdrawing from an interaction, shutting down and closing ourselves off from the other. We may be physically still present, but we become un-responsive, emotionally withdrawn, and non-communicative.…

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Recruiting Now: SL BreakThrough  Companions

By Francine & Byron Pirola / February 1, 2024

Are you called to accompany those in marital distress? Join the SL BreakThrough Companion online training course in May 2024 A Companion is a couple or a person who accompanies a Participant as they progress through the course. Their role is pastoral: to support, encourage, pray with, and help the Participant understand the concepts and…

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Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash

Defending our hearts

By Francine & Byron Pirola / January 26, 2024

Is defensiveness crippling your relationship? Do you feel regularly on edge, reactive and punchy? Read on for our process for managing defensiveness. Recently, Byron shared a new idea with Francine. Instead of encouragement, Francine responded with “when will you get time to do that?!” The conversation immediately terminated in gloomy withdrawal. Afterwards we unpacked the…

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Resolutions to Have and to Hold

By Francine & Byron Pirola / December 29, 2023

It’s a new year, a new decade and 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…

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The Light of Bethlehem Heals

By Francine & Byron Pirola / December 22, 2023

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…

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Confessions of an Advent failure

By Francine & Byron Pirola / December 8, 2023

Advent is supposed to be a season for spiritual growth and reflection. Too often we arrive at Christmas eve frazzled and in a spiritual desert. Advent is full of opportunities for spiritual nourishment. There’s community celebrations and family gatherings, beautiful Church services and stunning displays proclaiming the Christmas message. Working against us, there’s the pressure…

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Waiting … with joyful hope

By Francine & Byron Pirola / November 30, 2023

Advent is the season of waiting. And there sure is lots of waiting in marriage and family life. Advent, from the Latin adventus, means ‘coming’.  In the Church calendar, Advent kick starts the year with a period of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas. Like Lent, the colour for Advent is purple…

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