Archive for May, 2010
May 31, 2010
(Memorial Day) To serve country, spouse, or God is to give your life because of your love. Sacrificing time and spending energy in the service of your beloved counts, too. Serve your spouse in an unexpected way today.
A unique union
From Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan Marriage is a unique union, a relationship different from all others.
May 30, 2010
“Hark! My lover – here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills” (Song of Songs 2:8). When human words can’t fully express the passion a wife feels for her beloved, images from scripture can sing your heart’s desire.
To be sensitive, loving and merciful
From Address of Pope Benedict XVI at the Fifth World Meeting of Families The Lord makes it possible for us, through our human love, to be sensitive, loving and merciful like Christ.
Blessed
Blessed the husband of a good wife, twice-lengthened are his days. Sirach 26:1
May 29, 2010
“When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls” (Proverbs 31:10). Maybe romantic words don’t come easily to you. Perhaps scripture can help you speak the priceless devotion you have for your wife.
The Waiting Game
A couple of months ago, I read an article in a baby magazine that included quotes from a handful of different women on what it is like to be nine months pregnant. I don’t remember any of them but one: “You know you’re nine months pregnant when you drop something on the kitchen floor and you ask yourself, ‘Do I really need that?’”
What a Difference When Husbands Help Out at Home!
The risk of divorce diminishes when husbands help at home with child care and other household tasks, according to Wendy Sigle-Rushton, a senior lecturer in the social policy department at the London School of Economics. The risk of divorce when both spouses work is entirely offset when the husband helps out with the household’s “unpaid” work.
Bound to one another
From On the Family By virtue of the sacramentality of their marriage, spouses are bound to one another in the most profoundly indissoluble manner.
May 28, 2010
Often, when couples get into an argument, each partner just keeps repeating their own position in different words. Say it once, then try to understand your spouse’s side.
Renew your commitment regularly
From Follow the Way of Love All couples: renew your commitment regularly, seek enrichment often, and ask for pastoral and professional help when needed.
May 27, 2010
If you and your spouse disagree on a punishment for a child, talk it over privately. If you agree to change it, let the parent who first set the consequence convey the change.
The Forgiveness Book: A Catholic Approach
Forgiveness is not the provenance only of married couples, but it certainly is of special interest to them. “The alternative to forgiveness is … hardened hearts, broken relationships, memories full of shrapnel, and families or communities paralyzed and divided.”
May 26, 2010
In the heat of an argument, when you can only think about winning, try giving your spouse the benefit of the doubt. After all, deep down he or she does not want to hurt you, even though wanting to win can cloud one’s judgment.
A new unity
From Letter to Families from Pope John Paul II for 1994 – Year of the Family In the family… there appears a new unity, in which the relationship “of communion” between the parents attains complete fulfillment.
Fun Together–or, How to Feed Your Frog
Lots of couples talk about how continuing to date each other after getting married, and especially after having children, is a vital part of their relationship. This is totally true, of course. Setting aside special “couple time” is absolutely invaluable on so many levels. But it is also super hard to actually make it happen.
Can there be any other communion comparable
From Letter to Families from Pope John Paul II for 1994 – Year of the Family Can there be any other “communion” comparable to that between a mother and a child whom she has carried in her womb and then brought to birth?
May 25, 2010
Christian marriage is a covenant, not a contract. Contracts are 50-50 legal agreements that can be broken if one partner doesn’t fulfill his or her part. A covenant is a promise that goes beyond 50-50.
May 24, 2010
Take a trip down memory lane. Remember your first real date with each other. Did you expect this relationship to go anywhere at the time? Share your memories of what you did together.
Deep waters
Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away. Song of Songs 8:7
May 23, 2010
Love is a process of learning to let go of having something “my way.” The scripture passage, “Be subject to one another” (Ephesians 5:21) calls us to grow up and give in, at least some of the time.
Living according to God’s plan for love and life
From Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan Living according to God’s plan for love and life does not mean that married couples cannot plan their families.
May 22, 2010
“Five tools that every good marriage uses to battle bad things are: ownership [taking responsibility for what you do], hope, empathy, forgiveness, and commitment” (Drs. Les & Leslie Parrot). Which of these is your strongest suit?
Each marital act
From Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan Each marital act signifies, embodies, and renews the original and enduring marital covenant between husband and wife.
Growth into an intimate friendship
From Follow the Way of Love And enduring marriage is more than simply endurance. It is a process of growth into an intimate friendship and a deepening peace.
