Spirituality
The Spousal Meaning of the Body
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” … So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.…
Read MoreGod’s Love Lavished Upon Us
“God is Love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” 1 Jn 4:16 According to Pope Benedict XVI, the essence of being a Christian is not so much “the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives…
Read MoreThe Redemption of the Body
“The man and his wife were both naked yet they felt no shame” – Gn 2:25 The BattleGround of the heart We all know that it is possible to follow the rules or ‘the law of God’, without ever attaining holiness. We might do all the right things, but not really be committed in our…
Read MoreThe Power of Forgiveness
Let’s face it, your fiancé is not the only person who can or has hurt or disappointed you. Outside injuries, whether new or ancient, limit your ability to trust or to be completely generous and they often drive your behaviour. You can overreact to each other because of something someone else has done to you…
Read MoreCommunion of Persons
“…man, as male-female is a person, created in the ‘image and likeness of God,’…this image is realised in the communion of persons.” TOB, n 69:4. pg 399. We are called to be ‘gift’, to make a gift of ourselves to another. The nature of this gift is more than just a bodily, physical sharing; the…
Read MorePurity of Heart
Theology of the Body Insight “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 To be pure of heart means to be able to love another without self-interest; to set aside our own self-centred desires in order to love as a pure and unselfish gift of self. This purity of heart…
Read MoreLove as Gift
In our culture, ‘love’ is generally seen to be an ‘emotion’. We fall into love and we fall out of it. Love is something that just happens to us; we can’t help falling in and out of love. In fact, ‘love’ is a choice. True love is a conscious, deliberate choice to make a gift…
Read MoreMarriage or Matrimony?
People call a lot of relationships ‘marriage’. Everything from cohabitation (common law marriage) to civil contracts (secular marriage) to the Judeo-Christian concept of covenant. In a Christian marriage there is a desire for the marriage to be open to the Lord and a willingness to look to scripture and the Church community for direction. If…
Read MoreThe One Flesh Union
It can be hard to get our heads around the amazing gift that Jesus made of himself by dying on the cross for our salvation. We are told that it was a personal sacrifice, that if we were the only one in need, he would have still gone through with it – his love for…
Read MoreA Marriage-Based Lenten Plan
3 Ways to do Lent for your marriage Transcript 3 WAYS TO DO LENT A MARRIAGE-BASED LENTEN PLAN Lent has begun and it’s the perfect time to establish healthy new habits that will support our marriage and deepen our spiritual life. Here are three quick ways to live lent well with a marriage focus.…
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