Marriage enrichment: Showing caregivers a little love

Valentine’s Day is a good time to let them know how we feel Valentine’s Day is the day typically set aside for couples to express their love for each other. Although it is a special day for couples, the greeting card industry celebrates all forms of loving relations. When my …

Marriage enrichment: Home for Christmas

The Holy Family serves as a wonderful example of how we share our children All of our children will be home for Christmas. We are very excited about that fact! And two of them will be bringing their spouses with them. Our son has been married for three years now …

Marriage enrichment: Focus on the family

Synod of Bishops preparing to deal with a world of challenges facing family life Families come in all shapes and sizes and every one of them has its own particular set of challenges. Luckily for us, Pope Francis understands the challenges of family life and has decided to see how …

Marriage enrichment: Home really is a holy place

Finding new ways to communicate this message more effectively I have just returned from the National Association of Family Life Ministers (NACFLM) annual conference. The theme this year was “Home is a Holy Place,” which was perfectly timed to tie into the emphasis Pope Francis has placed on the Church …

Marriage enrichment: Following Joseph’s example

The world needs more fathers who say yes to God’s plan for their lives In early May I had the opportunity to attend an extended family gathering with my siblings, several cousins and their families. I was visiting with my brother, John, when he pointed to our cousin, John, and …

Marriage enrichment: Inviting God into a marriage

Prayer between husbands and wives can enhance matrimony by emphasizing listening, forgiveness My husband and I recently attended a Celebration of Life service for the father of a close friend. Our friend’s father, Chester R. Cecil Sr., had been married to his wife, Barbara, for 67 years. The eulogy given …

Marriage enrichment: Marriage Be-Attitudes

Strengthening marriages by strengthening our ‘domestic church’ is possible by modeling sacrificial love This past Christmas we were discussing New Year’s resolutions with our adult children. Our daughter-in-law shared that she and our son weren’t going to be making resolutions this year. She told us they were going to have …

Marriage enrichment: Looking forward to a Synod of Bishops

Special assembly meeting in October 2014 to focus on the pastoral care of the family Pope Francis in early October called for a Synod of Bishops to gather in Rome in October 2014. A Synod of Bishops consists of an assembly of bishops chosen from different regions around the world …

Families often are where we first learn about God

The Catholic Church has referred to the family as the “domestic church” ever since Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, was published during the Second Vatican Council. The term domestic church means that it is within our families that we first learn about God and the Catholic Church. …

The truth about marriage: Turn off the noise, turn on the attention

In July I attended the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers conference (NACFLM) in St. Louis. During one of the breakout sessions, the presenter mentioned that when he speaks to couples with hurting marriages, the couples’ conversation can be broken down to two basic points…the wife wants to be …

Marriage enrichment: Reignite the spark to enrich a marriage

Try breaking old habits, traditions once in a while and other tips to keep the romance alive My husband and I are celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary this month. Somewhere along the line we began a tradition of going out to dinner and a movie to celebrate our anniversary. This …

Marriage enrichment: Advice on natural family planning

NFP Awareness Week occurs in July to raise awareness, help couples be pro-woman, pro-man, pro-child Each year I dedicate my July column to Natural Family Planning Awareness Week. NFP Awareness Week is sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and this year the educational campaign that goes along with …