Spiritual Life

Christ is present in a special way when a couple prays together.  They not only renew their yes to God, but also achieve a deeper union with each other, which springs solely from the union of hearts and couples in the sacrament of marriage. – Fr. Henri Caffarel

How can couples move their marriage from surviving to thriving, or from good to great? By making couple prayer a normal part of our marriage. Christian marriage is a supernatural endeavor, so that means that it is really not possible to have a successful marriage without Jesus!  Prayer between spouses isn’t just something you do, it is a gift from the two of you to Christ Himself.  It is acknowledging that Christ is the “glue” that keeps you together.   In this podcast we talk about how to incorporate prayer into your marriage, why it is so important, and how prayer can help you forge a deeper unity than you have ever had before.  Much of this conversation is discussing the writings of Fr. Henri Caffarel, founder of Teams of Our Lady.

Getaway: https://catholiccouplesgetaway.com/
Listener Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XW98NMH

Key Takeaways:

• Meditate on John 17:20-22
• This is how you will build real unity in your marriage
• Don’t let difficulties stop you – your marriage needs this!
• Find your own way of praying but be sure to include the key elements of Praise, Forgiveness, Intercession, and Thanksgiving

Couple Discussion:

• What is holding us back from prayer?
• What is a time and place that we can pray together at least once a week?
• Let’s make a plan. How do we feel comfortable bringing in the Key Elements of prayer?

Resources: 

• Teams booklet on Conjugal Prayer: https://www.teamsofourlady.org/www/default/ckfinder/userfiles/1080/files/Endeavors/Conjugal_prayer_contents.pdf
• Daily Grace Co Marriage Prayer Journal: https://thedailygraceco.com/products/together-marriage-journal-1?_pos=4&_sid=1b4f62838&_ss=r
• Praying Parents Journal
  https://catholicfamilycrate.com/products/praying-parents?_pos=2&_psq=journal&_ss=e&_v=1.0
• Praying as a Couple podcast
• Forgiveness podcast
• Praying as a Couple booklet (coming soon)

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The indissolubility of marriage…should not be viewed as a ‘yoke’ imposed on humanity, but as a ‘gift’ granted to those who are joined in marriage…  God’s indulgent love always accompanies our human journey; through grace, it heals and transforms hardened hearts, leading them back to the beginning through the way of the cross. – Pope Francis

The marriage sacrament is meant to heal and transform us into who God wants us to be!  But sometimes that journey is not what we would expect.  In this interview, David and Margaret Bereit share their story of marriage and David’s conversion – the two are completely intertwined!  Listen in as we talk about how they walked together in freedom though they were in different places, how they loved each other and their children in the midst of their different faiths, and how David came to join the Church and what that meant for them both.  There is some great advice in this interview for those in mixed marriages and for anyone who wants to know how to deeply love friends and family who are in a different place than yourself.  

https://messyfamilyproject.org/course/family-board-meeting-live/

www.catholiccouplesgetaway.com 

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“This is a book about love; more exactly, it is about the love that knows no end, the love our hearts yearn for. The love that consumes, that reverberates, that heightens—it is a love that costs everything—yet offers everything. – Theresa and Peter Martin, The Rule

When the young priest Fr. Karol Wojtyla was living in Poland, he wrote a “rule” for married couples, similar to the protocols that religious orders follow for their way of life. His suggestions were born out of his deep friendships with young married couples who he observed and who helped him see what married couples need to do to find true life within the married vocation. We heard about this book and were immediately intrigued, so we invited Theresa and Peter Martin to share with us more about their book, how it came to be, and about The Rule itself.  In this podcast, we talk about the challenges of married life and how the Church can help us live a life of grace, the role of children in this quest of holiness, and what a life of prayer looks like in the home.  Most importantly, we talk about community and how essential it is for families to support each other in their common life. Listen in and see how you can join in this movement of married couples living the Rule outlined by St. John Paul II.   

https://www.wojtylaci.com/

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“When an army retreats on the battlefield, it doesn’t mean that they are giving up. It can mean that they are taking time to reassess and regroup so they can come back stronger. This is the essence of a Family Retreat.” ~ Mike Hernon

The concept of a family retreat is something that we have developed over the years for our own family.  It grew out of our desire to regroup and reconnect with our kids outside of the daily chaos in our home.  To do this, we have taken our children to vacation homes, retreat houses, and occasionally to a hotel, to take some time for family fun, team building activities, teaching and prayer.  We don’t use a set program, but we do have the same principles that we use over and over.  In this podcast, we share these principles with you so you can develop your own retreat for your family.  If you would like more than what is just offered on this podcast – check out our Family Retreat Guide found on our website!  Even if you don’t do a retreat this year, listen in so you can talk about it with your spouse and develop a strategic “retreat” for your family.  

Family Retreat Guide: messyfamilyproject.org/guides/

Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/A5pQ-qaJ9vY

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“Teaching is an essential part of our faith that reminds us that following Jesus Christ transforms every part of our lives, from our attitude toward money, to the choices we make at the doctor’s office, to the way we build our families.”

– Nancy Bandzuch

Parents are charged by God to be good stewards of their children and caring for children includes forming them in the faith and teaching them!  This is especially important in our culture where there is widespread confusion about some of the most essential issues, in addition to issues where Catholics can disagree.  Nancy Bandzuch has taken on this challenge to help parents discuss these issues with their children clearly in the book Catholic Social Teaching for Youth available through her ministry Catholic Sprouts.  In this interview, we talk about why this task of the formation of children is so important, how to use this book for a variety of ages, and what is covered.  Listen in to be empowered to embrace the task of forming your children in the truth.

www.CatholicSprouts.com

www.CatholicCouplesGetaway.com

Watch here: https://youtu.be/zse3JrTzNuU

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“Mothers are the strongest antidote to the spread of self-centred individualism… It is they who testify to the beauty of life”. – Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia

The life of a mother is hidden and powerful at the same time, but the message of our culture is that you only matter if you have a strong resume, evidence of your worth, and an education to back it up. This is simply not the way God sees the vocation of motherhood! In this interview with Christine Hanus, author of the book Everyday Heroism we discuss the reality that the “hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” even when we don’t feel like it. This conversation is full of tears, laughter, and real stories about real moms who deal with the ups and downs of raising children. We hope that this podcast inspires all moms to be the best person they can be for their kids, but also for themselves. Embracing motherhood means embracing personal growth and holiness on a whole new level.

• Buy Christine’s book here.
• Getaway – Early bird ends 6/30 – catholiccouplesgetaway.com

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