Search Results: St Valentine

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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#1 Marriage as a Mission

By Francine & Byron Pirola / May 25, 2022

What does it mean to make ‘marriage our mission’? With our guest, Philipa Caulfield, we break it down and explore how we’ve done it and why we need it. Guest: Philipa Caulfield, with her husband Luke, are SmartLoving super-sponsors. They’ve been accompanying engaged couples for over ten years and have featured in some of the…

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Called to Greatness

By Francine & Byron Pirola / May 20, 2022

The word ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin ‘vocare’ which means ‘to call’. Our primary vocation, the one we all share, is the vocation to holiness. We are called to follow Christ and be in relationship with him. From the Pope to a newborn – it is the same call and equally compelling. A secondary vocation…

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Couples need a village too

By Francine & Byron Pirola / July 24, 2020

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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Lockdown – show down

By Francine & Byron Pirola / April 17, 2020

Tips for couples to survive the Corona lock down  The Corona virus is not just a threat to our physical health – it’s also a challenge to our relationships.   Across the world, couples are rediscovering the joy – and the pain – of living together 24/7. Without warning, billions of previously interdependent spouses now share…

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Be My Valen-time!

By Francine & Byron Pirola / February 10, 2016

Insufficient time together is one of the biggest contributors to relationship breakdown. Whether our relationship is flying or sinking, time together is like a balm, healing the bumps and bruises of life and stimulating our feelings of affection and tenderness. And with Valentines’ Day approaching, it’s the perfect opportunity to give the gift of time.…

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Tainted Love: Why is 50 Shades of Grey so Popular?

By Dr. Gregory Popcak / February 6, 2015

This article first appeared in Patheos and is republished here with the permission of the author. Note:  The following article deals frankly with sexual topics Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that 50 Shades of Grey, a popular soft-core pornographic movie about a timid young woman who is sexually dominated by a billionaire,…

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