The holidays represent a great challenge to marriages and family life. We all enjoy getting together with family and friends and spending time with them. But what happens when the extended family on both sides expect you to spend Christmas or New Years with them? Where do you go? Who […]
The name Advent (from the Latin word Adventus, which signifies a coming) is applied to the time of year during which the Church requires the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the feast of Christmas — the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. The season of Advent lasts […]
How often do we remember to give thanks for the acts of love and kindness we constantly receive? How many times do we take for granted the love that surrounds us? The celebration of Thanksgiving comes into our lives once a year as a reminder to be thankful, not only […]
There are many beautiful places where a couple may want to celebrate their wedding. Some of these places may even have a special meaning to that couple. Maybe that’s the place where they met, or maybe that’s the place where they dreamed of going together as a married couple. Whatever […]
On October 8th through the 10th several new Diocesan Directors of Family Life gathered at the Washington Retreat House in Washington, DC for an orientation that was put together by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family and Youth. The goal of the […]
Marriage preparation? What is that? What’s the point? “My fiance and I have decided to get married in the Catholic Church. Why are we being asked to take classes?” These are all real and legitimate questions that many couples ask when they learn that they need to complete a marriage […]
You are getting married in the Catholic Church. Congratulations! Now that the big decision is made and you have decided to begin this process, you may have heard about “Pre-Cana” and you may be wondering what it is and how will it benefit you and your future spouse. First, what […]
An important aspect about preparing for marriage in the Catholic Church is finding and selecting the priest who will preside over the celebration. Couples usually find the church first and, therefore, the priest who is at that particular church will celebrate the wedding ceremony. This is perfectly fine. It is […]
In my role as a Family Life Director for the Diocese of Dallas, I attended the NACFLM Conference every year and it was always an opportunity to reconnect with my peers, learn something new, discover new materials and make new connections. This year I was blessed to attend the 2019 […]
“There are a number of legitimate ways to structure programmes of marriage preparation, and each local Church will discern how best to provide a suitable formation without distancing young people from the sacrament.” (Amoris Laetitia #207) As diocesan or parish leaders, we are often faced with those “special cases”. There’s […]