Posts Tagged ‘sacrament’
Together 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 MorePursuing a Lasting Love
Lessons from St. Valentine | A reflection for World Marriage Day 2025 As we approach World Marriage Day on February 9th, we are reminded of another celebrated figure of marital devotion – St. Valentine. Today, his name evokes thoughts of flowers and romantic dinners. Yet St. Valentine’s true legacy speaks to something far more…
Read MoreMarriage or Matrimony?
People call a lot of relationships ‘marriage’. Everything from cohabitation (common law marriage) to civil contracts (secular marriage) to the Judeo-Christian concept of covenant. In a Christian marriage there is a desire for the marriage to be open to the Lord and a willingness to look to scripture and the Church community for direction. If…
Read More#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…
Read MoreSomething 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…
Read MoreWhy Marry in the Catholic Church?
The best reason to marry in the Catholic Church is because you believe that Jesus Christ is God’s love revealed in human flesh; and that Christ is embodied in the gathering of his followers – the Church.
Read MoreSt Valentine and Revolutionary Marriage
It’s St Valentine’s day next week. This year, it coincides with Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and a traditional day for penance and fasting. Oh dear! What to do?! Some think this is a pity; normally we focus on romance and joy for the lover’s feast and it’s hard to do that on…
Read MoreFor couples, every day is ‘Passion Sunday’
A friend gave us a copy of a classic book the other day they had found in a street market: The Catholic Marriage Manual, by Rev George A. Kelly, published 1958. It’s in excellent condition and has that old-book smell acquired from collecting dust on a bookshelf for sixty years. In keeping with our perception…
Read MoreSacrament Essentials – Reconciliation
CathFamily – February 2015 edition features the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Read MoreEngaged Couples Ask Pope Questions
On the feast of St Valentine’s Day, Pope Francis answered the questions of three engaged couples in St. Peter’s Square, with an audience of 20 000 other young engaged couples. Here are their questions: Question 1: The fear of the “forever” Holiness, so many today think that to promise faithfulness for the whole of life…
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