Stewardship in love and marriage

February is an appropriate time to enhance the beauty, faith, sacrifice, and joy of marital relationships The January edition of The East Tennessee Catholic contained an insert describing the purpose and focus of the 2013 Bishop’s Appeal Campaign. The title of the campaign is “Love Never Fails,” and the idea …

Marriage enrichment: Learning to let go is a difficult lesson

Mary set the example in loving her child with an open hand, allowing Jesus the freedom to grow By Marian Christiana Learning to let go can be a challenge for all of us, especially when it comes to our children. Years ago, when our children were young and starting school, …

Holiday togetherness occurs in many ways

By the time you read this my family will have already celebrated Thanksgiving dinner together. Our family couldn’t all be together on Thursday, Nov. 22, so we celebrated early. This might have seemed strange to me at an earlier time in my life but now it makes perfect sense. Thanksgiving …

‘Hope Springs’ eternal when saving a marriage

My position as coordinator of the diocesan Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment gives me an opportunity to explore material that could be beneficial to engaged couples as well as to long-term married couples. The material comes from many sources, and some of the best sources are personal suggestions from …

Know how to assist spouses who grieve

By Marian Christiana In May, a dear friend of ours lost her 15-month battle with cancer. Eileen and her husband, Paul, had been married for 30 years. We have been friends with Paul since we were teenagers and we continue to try to support him as much as possible. Sometimes …