St. Raymond Nonnatus is a saint from the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy or the Mercedarian Order and was born in 1204 in Barcelona, Spain. He is called Nonnatus or “not born” referring to his Caesarean section birth. Since his mother died while giving birth to him, Nonnatus is the patron saint […]
It’s been a roller-coaster kind of year so far, with thrilling highs, unexpected jolts and surprises. At the end of a roller-coaster ride after being yanked to and fro, it just seems to come to an abrupt stop and it’s time to get off. You are not quite sure if you want to ride again […]
This piece serves as a follow up from my previous article entitled, “What Wives Want Their Husbands to Know.” While these articles are in no way exhaustive, they are common stumbling blocks I encounter in my work in marriage ministry. Both in the preparation side and marriages in crisis. One young husband stated after reading […]
Are romance novels an innocent pastime or something more dangerous? While I was working on Amazing Grace for Married Couples, a story we ended up not using involved a woman who became addicted to romance novels. It seems she is not alone. I’ve gone to garage sales and saw tables full of romance novels for […]
What gives me the right to presume to speak on behalf of the wives of humanity? Who am I anyway? Where are all the letters behind my name, my credentials, or reviews from my peers? What I simply propose here is based on my almost thirty-nine years of marriage, (“street cred”), and the fact that […]
What is it about we humans wherein we want diamonds, but we settle for broken glass? We see this in many areas of our life; jobs, exercise, and relationships to name a few. We want good things for ourselves, meaningful work, a sleek rock-hard body, a learned mind, a happy fulfilling marriage- all of which […]
30 years ago, my husband, Max, and I were married in the Catholic Church. I was not yet baptized and didn’t belong to any church when I was pregnant with our first child. Max III was born on March 24, 1986. After he was born he developed a strep-B blood infection and wasn’t expected to make […]
In my work preparing engaged couples for marriage, I find myself pondering what might have been different for us, if my husband and I would have been required to take the same prep that is currently offered in the Diocese of Phoenix. While we were married in Phoenix over thirty-eight years ago, the marriage prep […]
In my work preparing couples for marriage, I have had to account for the unexpected implosion of a marriage where I was once part of the preparation. Sometimes I hear about the troubles first hand, other times when I see one of them meeting with the Nullity Minister. It saddens me every time when those […]
The word selfless appears to be an oxymoron at first glance, a contradiction if you will. We are encouraged through Scripture in both the New and Old Testaments on numerous occasions that, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love yourself too much, and risk being an egomaniac and your neighbor is literally invisible much […]
I work full time in marriage ministry. I have the honor to work with excited, newly engaged couples anxious to start the prep process. Their exuberant joy is quite contagious. After gathering the critical contact information, I like to pose deeper questions to ascertain where they are at in their understanding of marriage, and to […]
Christmas has always been a season of Hope, especially for children and most especially for young children. We invest so much in our children, trying to make them happy, secure and successful. But new statistics have shown how our secular lifestyles are threatening their future, the future of society. As Christians we are not supposed […]
While preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ this year, we must also think about the wonderful blessings that Joseph and Mary experienced when God chose them to be the parents of His Son. Mary, who was conceived without original sin, and Joseph, who was vowed to Mary’s virginity and to his role […]
Pro-family leaders from around the world recently gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, to roll out and sign a declaration that aims to protect the family and traditional marriage. In its five short paragraphs, the Cape Town Declaration recognizes the family as the “first and primordial community” and “the bedrock of civil society.” It reaffirms […]
Shortly after I got married, a good priest gave me some sage advice: look at all your daily frustrations as a source of holiness. Later that day, my husband did something that irritated me, so I said to him through clenched teeth: “You are making me so holy right now.” Of course, this made us […]
A question that occasionally comes up when the topic of single Catholics is raised has to do with priorities. Some would say that the Church is too busy addressing the many moral evils in today’s society to be concerned with single people. This line of thinking, however, prevents the Church from seizing a great opportunity. Assisting […]
It seems many people have marrying an idiot as their goal. The amount of couples getting divorced proves to me that many have already become experts. Sadly, there are still those hold-outs who insist on taking their vow of “till death do us part” seriously even when they get bored with one another or a […]
On the same day dissenting theologians are presenting a statement at the United Nations in New York intended to change Catholic Church teaching on contraception, more than 500 Catholic intellectuals released their own statement affirming the Church’s teaching during a press conference yesterday at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The statement of […]
A preface to this article: I remember as a teenager how both the Internet and my hormones were exploding. I spent many a nights using dial up modems lusting after the latest digital pin-up. Front and center in my quest was the blond bombshell named Pamela Anderson. During the 90s, she was the crown jewel of all […]
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa “At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” – Plato “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” – Judy Garland The concept […]
Sex is easy. Obvious statement, so what’s the point? Birds do it. Beasts do it. Humans do it. There are those who prowl about the world pursuing sexual prey, consuming and discarding conquests like they were earning points in some sick game, attempting to satisfy a voracious carnal urge with little concern of consequence or […]
The most terrifying aspect of living out Catholic sexuality is that it requires us to unflinchingly kill an entire world of potentials. In this world of dreamers, it can be very difficult to commit oneself to a given way of life simply because it entails giving up all other ways of life. It can be […]
Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love) should be required reading in pre-Cana classes, say commentators, because the Pope explains Catholic teaching on marriage so wisely and elegantly to the current generation. Throughout the papal exhortation, you can find the themes of the four marks or “keys” of married love: faithfulness, freedom, fruitfulness, and a […]
The night before Pope Francis officially released Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), I was chatting about it with Fr. Dave Dwyer on the Busted Halo radio show. Revealing that he had been able to get his hands on an advance copy, Fr. Dave told me, “You’re going to love it. He says a lot […]
