Till Death Do us Part

By Francine & Byron Pirola We were taking a vacation to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary. As we settled in for the long flight, my husband pulled out the documents he had been working on – our wills. Apparently, leaving the family for ten days inspired him to update them as they were well overdue.…

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Smart Parents

Byron & Francine Pirola It’s 3am and Bron and James are in a standoff. Their toddler has woken for the third time that night and is not interested in going back to sleep. Demand feeding worked well for the first six months, but now, she is 11 months old and the sleep deprivation is taking…

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The Word Made Flesh

When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, Jesus’ body and blood is taken into our bodies, where it is digested and incorporated into our own flesh – we literally become ‘one flesh’ with him. That’s why we also call it ‘communion’, because we become one in body and soul with Jesus. Marriage lives this mystery…

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Resolve Your Married Money Woes

Surveys consistently show that having different approaches to the gaining and use of money is one of the top three challenging issues for couples. Why do so many couples find their money issues hard to resolve when budgeting is a simple skill that can be picked up by anyone? The answer is that our attitude…

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Annulments made easy… Really?

By Francine & Byron Pirola A Painful Reality While every marriage begins in hope and optimism, sadly, many marriages flounder and in a number of those, one or both spouses decide to end the marriage through a civil divorce. In some of these cases, due to mental instability, violence or other serious dysfunction, the Church…

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The Power of Two

by Byron & Francine Pirola By its very nature Matrimony has the power to renew the Church and all of society. Matrimony is the vocational sacrament within which the vast majority of adult Catholics live, and yet its capacity for teaching, renewing and leading the Church is largely overlooked. All Sacraments reveal a dimension of…

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Till Death do We Duel

Is your marriage plagued by an unhealthy spirit of competition? Competition is part of human life and has many benefits for individuals. One of the most obvious is that it encourages us to extend ourselves and develop our abilities. There’s nothing like a bit of competition to push us past our normal limits. The dark…

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Sacrament Essentials : Reconciliation

What’s this Sacrament business all about? As human beings we communicate through our body; through our words, gestures, facial expressions, and actions. Communication is so foundational to human relationships that they wither when we don’t regularly make the effort to communicate. They also shatter when we use our words or gestures to hurt others. God…

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Reconciliation: Parenting Points

The difference between ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘forgive me?’ Saying ‘sorry’ is different to asking for ‘forgiveness’. When we say sorry to someone, it is an ‘I-centred’ statement expressing sympathy, but not necessarily inferring that we take any responsibility. As such, it requires nothing from the person to whom we say it. It is always good…

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Family Flick Pick: Lent & Easter

Pop some popcorn and get comfy with these Lent & Easter themed family-friendly short list that CathFamily has compiled. The Passion of Christ. This Mel Gibson epic is certainly NOT suitable for young children or older children who have sensitive dispositions. However it is the most realistic film adaptation of the Passion story and it…

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Feasting and Fasting in Marriage

In marriage the fasting and feasting cycle is evident in the use of natural fertility methods which are the methods of family planning approved by the Catholic Church*. A couple’s marriage is nourished and strengthened when they make love. It is also strengthened by times of abstinence; these times may result from various factors including…

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