#4 Communication

Communication is one of the key topics that couples say is so important. While most engaged couples believe they are great at communication, many married couples say they could use some help. What’s going on? Did these couples somehow unlearn how to communicate? Join us as we explore communication – the pitfalls, the benefits, and…

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Catholic Courtship Summit 2022

Do you have a family member or friend that is currently in a serious dating relationship, and you desire to help them discern with more confidence?  If so, please invite them to join us for FREE at the Catholic Courtship Summit  Taking place from 18-20 August 2022.  The Catholic Courtship Summit is targeted for young adult…

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#1 Marriage as a Mission

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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Discover your Unique Love Profile

Do you know your love needs and love busters? Do the quiz below to determine your top five love needs and worst three love busters. Love Need: a behaviour or gesture which communicates love to you and helps you feel close and connected to your spouse. Of the following list, choose the five Love Needs that…

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The Power of Ritual

Some years ago, we attended a Smart Marriages conference in the United States. One of the most memorable inputs was from Dr Bill Doherty, a family therapist and author. Over dinner, he engaged the audience in telling stories about their relationship rituals, before unpacking how rituals work to strengthen marriages. It confirmed for us some…

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Listening is the Music of Love

One of the most supremely loving gestures we can give another is to listen to them. Yet for most of us, being listened to is a rare experience. What makes it so hard to give this simple gift to each other? We remember those days so well. The early romance days. Living in two different…

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Unconditional Love is a Contradiction of Terms

A Story Over the last few months, we have had several conversations with a woman who is struggling with a difficult situation. Her best friend is having an affair and is planning a new life without telling her existing boyfriend with whom she has lived for almost seven years. Not only is this woman distressed…

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Something 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…

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