It is time for believers in God and country to get real, and face the fact that the enemy is at the gates and starting to come over the wall. They might not feed us to the lions, but already they’re throwing us to the lawyers. Just ask Baronelle Stutzman, the Christian florist in Tri […]
For nearly two decades, I’ve been the wife of a police officer. Invariably, friends whose husbands do not require body armor to go to work ask how I cope with the inherent dangers of his job. They ask, as politely as possible, how I can live with the every-present possibility of being widowed and having […]
The family is the central way of proclaiming the “Gospel of Life,” a top Vatican official said this week during a weekend-long celebration of Blessed John Paul II’s letter by that name. In the family “children witness the Gospel of life in the relationship of their parents with one another and in the relationship of […]
I’ve always watched I Love Lucy. Lately, though, I notice that there is something about it that speaks to me in a very personal way. It sort of tugs at me. I can’t say that the show takes me back to anything in particular because it isn’t from a time in my personal life; but, […]
In my previous article I outlined a hypothetical and all too common scenario observed among young couples today. Decisions made early in their relationship can have an impact on their future marriage. How can we effectively help our young couples achieve happy, faithful, lifelong marriages? This quote by Arch Bishop Fulton Sheen bears deeper reflection, […]
“Marriage changes people, she’s different now” stated the young man speaking about his new wife. “We lived together for two years, then suddenly”, claims the new husband, “the ring popped on and she changed?” Is she really different, I wonder? Did the marriage really change her? Many engaged couples I meet are already sexually active and […]
By the time this column is published, this author will have participated in the sacrament of marriage. While I do not know what the future has in store for me, I do believe that the experiences I had in the past 14 months (our time of engagement) have been God preparing me for the married […]
I was Protestant for a time. I sang modern Christian music and swayed and held up my hands and loved the other members of the church. I found it difficult when there were divisions in the congregation and when some of my “family” decided to “plant a church” of their own. The trust was broken […]
To: Marybeth From: Opposed to cohabiting Can you offer any advice for my young adult daughters about why not to live with their boyfriends? I feel strongly that living together is to be saved for marriage, but it is hard for them to understand because “everyone is doing it” and they think I’m just old […]
When I first found it, I wasn’t even sure what it was. I was going through a trunk of personal items that had belonged to my dad when I ran across a little brown jewelry box. Dad passed away when I was just fifteen; I’d gathered an array of his possessions and kept them tucked […]
“You’re crazy.” Well, thanks for your kindness and tolerance in regards to my way of life. We hear a lot about tolerance and accepting others nowadays, but this is usually the response I get from people when I tell them that my husband and I don’t use contraception. Let me tell you, I love when […]
“I’m not that interested in ‘mass’ communications. I’m much more interested in what happens between this person and the one person watching. The space between the television set and that person who’s watching is very holy ground.” – Fred Rogers The traditional family unit has been negatively hit from so many directions in our world […]
I don’t really like abstinence. Wait. What? I certainly think restraint is valuable–I resist the kind of trips where you go to Target for two things and come out with ten. I try not to eat meat on Fridays. I teach Natural Family Planning (NFP). In some cases, however, particularly the case of sexuality, abstinence […]
Did any of you catch the recent “Princeton mom” flap? Princeton alumna Susan Patton, in an open letter to women attending Princeton, advised that they should find a husband in college–otherwise they’d wind up divorced from a not-very-smart man they’d meet later in life. (Ouch!) Then Kathleen Gerson fired back, countering that it’s objectively better for young women to marry later in life. And then Ross Douthat turned […]
Dustin, before we get started talking about the conjugal act of marital intercourse, why don’t you introduce yourself for a moment. Are you married? How many kids do you have? How do you bring home the bacon? What is Engaged Marriage? DR: Thanks for having me! I’m 33-year-old Midwestern who’s been married to my high […]
Do you ever feel competitive with your spouse? If you enjoy a friendly challenge involving word games, board games, or sports games, why not try a spiritual challenge based on advice from St. Paul? Although St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians contains his most well-known wisdom on love, his Letter to the Romans also teaches […]
To: Marybeth From: Dad is Desperate for a Date My husband says we should have “date nights” without our three kids, but free evenings are almost impossible to find. Our children’s schedules are full of school, sports and social activities that keep us coming and going, and when we finally choose date night, I’m either […]
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“It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is,” said the smooth-talking, skirt-chasing, totally busted philanderer. “Well, no, Bill,” replied Congress. “Actually, things just ‘is’ what they is.” Here’s what marriage is: The God-ordained, lifelong, covenantal union between man and wife, designed to provide men, women and children optimal stability and overall well-being. […]
Many people carry the painful wound of a divorced heart. The pain can be hard to understand for those of us who have never been through a divorce. It is a wonder to me that you can pray for your future spouse, sacrifice for them and get counsel to help you discover if this person […]
A reflection on the deepening darkness that celebrates homosexual unions and activity. There is, among faithful Catholics, a dismay, and even an understandable anger at the events unfolding at the Supreme Court these past days related to gay unions. And even if the court were to uphold traditional marriage (which does not seem likely), or […]
The legislative impact of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) came under heavy fire during oral arguments before the Supreme Court yesterday, with enough justices questioning its effect to signal it may be struck down on states’ rights grounds. Meanwhile, the court’s conservative wing wondered if the “new regime” had instituted a “new world” […]
Last month, my knight and I were blessed to celebrate 20 years of marriage. Call me crazy, call me just a hopeless romantic, but I LOVE my husband! Yes, I refer to him as my knight because he is just that amazing in the way he treats me: holding doors for me, getting the car […]
Mary and Joseph’s marriage didn’t exactly get off to an easy start. They were engaged and Joseph had promised not to “defile” Mary, because she was a consecrated virgin. He was really only marrying her because, in that day and age, there was no security in being a single woman. And then she turned up […]
