Tag: SmartLoving
Echoes from childhood can be paths to growth in marriage
The family is where we first encounter love and learn to relate with others. In many hidden ways our earliest bonds influence love and trust in our adult relationships.
SmartLoving: Three tools for better conflict
very marriage has conflict. Two imperfect people sharing a home and dealing with all the pressures of modern life? It’s inevitable! But conflict doesn’t have to be destructive.
SmartLoving: Embracing hope in our marriage
How letting go of expectations opens us to God's grace and helps fuel the virtue of hope in our lives and marriage.
SmartLoving: Leaving and cleaving is complicated!
When we marry, we each bring a mental picture of what a spouse ‘should’ be - how a husband should act, what a wife should do, or what family life should look like. These images aren’t formed in a vacuum; they’re rooted in our family of origin.
The annual liturgical “ego smackdown”
It’s that time of year when parishioners scatter like startled sheep. The call goes out for volunteers to have their feet washed on Holy Thursday, and suddenly, we’re armed with a thousand excuses. Yet within this awkward invitation lies a deeper summons—to receive God’s servant love.
Smartloving: The limits to self-expression
We need to be honest with our loved ones, but in our marriages too much of what we might think is "being honest" is downright dangerous.
The Ecology of the Body
Since the publication of Humanae Vitae in 1968, fertility awareness has come a long way. Our nature-interested age is primed to make natural fertility normal again, write Francine and Byron Pirola.
We need to talk about “unplanned childlessness”
Our culture warns kids about unplanned pregnancies, but are we honest about the risk of delaying fertility? While a couple’s decisions and circumstances should be respected, having kids isn’t as simple as we wish, write Francine and Byron Pirola.
Our “Father-in-awe” cares more than even the most devoted of human...
With our second son preparing to marry in a few months, we’ve found ourselves reflecting on our in-law relationships. In particular, we noted how our parent and parent-in-law relationships differ.
When I am winning, WE are usually losing
In relationship arguments, “You can either be right, or you can be one, but you can’t be both.” Pride is the enemy of unity, and can keep ugly arguments going indefinitely, write Francine and Byron Pirola.
Seven years – but who’s counting?
Young men and women wanting to leave the “dating market” for marriage often find it hard to get a commitment. Yet so many couples’ solutions—like cohabitation—actually make progressing to marriage more difficult, write Francine and Byron Pirola.
Relational Entropy and what to do about it
So many marriages break down, not from conflict but because they just drift apart. We mistakenly think marriages don’t take energy because our love felt so effortless at the beginning—but like all things, relationships are subject to entropy.
