Marriage and Family
Your Family Matters is the name of a regular article I write for the Northwest Catholic magazine, the official magazine of the Archdiocese of Seattle.
I’m honored to have been nationally honored by the Catholic Press Association over the past three years in the category of marriage and family life:
2015: 1st Place
2016: 3rd Place
2017: 2nd Place
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“I recently discovered that my husband has relapsed in his struggle with porn. I am hurting pretty badly right now.”
“My husband’s life is consumed with porn. He’s living a lie and it’s destroying our family. I can’t even begin to describe the sadness I feel about this.”
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Fifty years ago, in 1968, the sexual revolution was just getting traction. It was starting to convince the culture that sex, babies, marriage and sexual difference don’t need to go together. No problem if they’re separated! It will be fun! Thus, on July 25, 1968, Blessed Pope Paul VI was widely viewed as a big party pooper. Despite his record as a progressive for reconvening and implementing Vatican II, addressing the United Nations, and urging solidarity with the poor, his popularity was instantly diminished that day thanks to the document he issued reaffirming the consistent teaching of the church on sexuality and marriage.
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My next-door neighbor, Karla, recently posted this conversation with her 7-year-old daughter, Ainsley, on social media:
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What stories did Jesus hear from his grandparents?
Did Joachim and Anna have a way with words, like their daughter Mary? Would Jesus have learned colorful expressions and turns of phrase from them along with knowledge of family history and the history of the people of Israel? We know that family was highly valued in the Jewish culture in which Jesus grew up. Listening to the elders was very important. Jesus would have been raised to soak up their words and stories. He would have heard stories of his ancestors, stories of his people and their journeys, their hope in God. Continue reading “Grandparents, share your stories!”
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In Western Washington, if you bump into the love of your life in line for coffee at Starbucks, the odds that your newly discovered soulmate will also be Catholic are one in eight. This is based on an official report by archdiocesan statistician Mary Beth Celio. (She didn’t mention Starbucks, but you get the idea.) Unfortunately, couples who do not share the same faith face unique challenges. No matter how much love they share, if Brad is Catholic and Jenna is not, this difference will be felt — even if Jenna is supportive of Brad’s faith. Continue reading “How do I keep my faith and my marriage strong if my spouse isn’t Catholic?”
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All Catholics should be informed, aware and ready to help anyone suffering physical, psychological or emotional abuse.
Michael was so charming when he courted Jessica during their whirlwind romance. After they were married, though, he started using anger and violence to control her. At first, he smashed furniture. Later, he was hitting Jessica and their little daughter, Ashley. He apologized and promised to change. But again and again, he continued to erupt in rage and hurt her when he didn’t like what she did, where she went, who she talked to, or how she spent money. Continue reading “How to help women suffering domestic violence”
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Could you make a New Year’s resolution to date your spouse at least once a month this year?
The wide-open sweep of the calendar year ahead is a great opportunity for married couples to plan a year’s worth of date nights with each other. Daytime dates work, too! Setting the intention to spend regular time enjoying your husband or wife’s company builds up friendship and satisfaction, strengthening your marriage. Continue reading “Resolve to enjoy a ‘Year of Dates’”
Photo: Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci, Luc Viatourbe
Christmas celebrates the gift of the Incarnation: the Word made flesh, God himself taking on a human body to reveal his love to us. The body is so important in Christianity. The body matters. The body speaks. Its language reveals to us our call to be a total self-gift in love. That is the central insight of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, a series of teachings on man, woman and love which he gave in the early years of his pontificate.
“The body … alone is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine,” the pope wrote. In masculinity and femininity, we discover the revelation of God’s image, the call to authentic love, and the true meaning of our sexuality. The implications of this insight have been life-changing for many.
Continue reading “The Incarnational Power of Theology of the Body”
Photo: Psalter of Queen Melisende/Flickr Commons
This November, as we remember our departed in a particular way, it is a good time to remember also that the church offers comfort for the men and women left behind when a beloved spouse dies. Widows and widowers have a life full of dignity, purpose and mission. As Vatican II declared, “Widowhood, accepted bravely as a continuation of the marriage vocation, should be esteemed by all.”
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This Oct. 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the final apparition of Our Lady of Fátima. At Fátima, Portugal, Our Lady urged the shepherd children to pray the rosary daily to obtain peace for the world. In this time of crisis in marriage and family life, a daily family rosary — a daily rosary from all Catholics — for the strengthening of marriage and family is a powerful means of building peace in the world.
Continue reading “Pray the Rosary for Stronger Marriages and Families”