Every now and then, a moment comes when someone fires a bolt of truth into the mayhem of modern culture and the repercussions are felt around the world, in a good way!  Such a moment was the historic interview by Cathy Newman, an avowed radical feminist, with a mild but firm professor, Jordan Peterson from Canada, a highly intelligent advocate for common sense. The interview has gone viral and is now ...

Here are five affordable yet fun ideas to celebrate the spirit of Valentine’s Day with your beloved all year round. Valentine’s Day is, in many ways, a gap-filling marketing oasis for retailers to cover their bottom lines between Christmas and Easter. We buy into it probably for the same reasons. Valentine’s Day offers time to take a breath between the biggest ecclesial feasts of the year. The grind is back in ...

Counting your blessings by noting down things to be grateful about your spouse, is a wonderful way to transform your perspective and make them feel genuinely appreciated and loved. Yes, it is Valentine’s Day this coming Monday 14 February, and the first thing you are going to say is, this is just commercialised flim-flam, and besides, what has it got to do with Dads? Trust me, celebrating Valentine’s Day is critical ...

Quality time together is ideal to keep the spark alive in a marriage, but it needs to be bolstered by “quantity-time”, making the effort to do routine things together, being comfortable in each other’s company and sharing everyday moments. With Valentine’s Day approaching, couples everywhere are looking for ways to mark the day with romance. From lovestruck dating couples to couples stressed out with kids, every one of us struggles to ...

Seeing your child grow up and get married is bittersweet, but embrace the changing seasons as part of being a parent. Being the father of the bride is an honour, a momentous occasion, a fresh opportunity to love. The first Father of the Bride movie was shot in 1950. The second Father of the Bride movie with Steve Martin starring as the father was shot in 1991. Don’t worry, there will ...

St Valentine witnessed to the importance of married love by his life and death. This Valentine’s Day, let us celebrate true love in our marriages, recommitting ourselves to loving and serving our spouses with joy. On February 14 every year, couples around the world celebrate one of the heroes of Christian history. As the story goes, Valentine was a Roman priest who married young couples in secret despite the decree of Emperor Claudius II forbidding all weddings. The emperor ...

Even if your marriage is going through difficulties, taking these small steps can work wonders in reigniting your love and smoothing out communication. A lot of people feel trapped in a dissatisfying or troubled marriage. They feel powerless to ‘fix’ it because their spouse refuses to join them in counselling or a marriage enrichment course. Yet in truth, there are lots of things a husband or wife can do on their ...

Were we too young to get married? Would it have been better to wait till later? Lots of people told us so. Neither of us had really experienced life: Byron at 27 had at least lived out of home for three years. On the other hand, Francine at 21 was still studying, had never had her own bedroom, let alone lived independently. From university professors, mentors and friends, she was repeatedly ...

Anniversaries aren’t just for reminiscing about a past event. They are an opportunity to forge new memories together and cherish one another with expressions of true love. As critical as I am about New Year’s resolutions and the feckless sentimentalism attached, I am not averse to using January to prepare for key anniversaries. These key calendar events spark hope in the midst of the dull, back-to-work, post-Christmas grind. An anniversary is ...

Research shows that religious men tend to do more chores than non-religious, progressive men. What is the reason behind this? And what other reasons might men have to delve into the thick of housework? While housework is not the most glamorous of duties, research from the University of Utah suggests that some men are holding their own, both in the kitchen and outside it. Surprising Observations In January 2021, Utah-based Deseret ...

We’ve all been in that situation. A friend or relative confides in us that they are having some marriage trouble. We want to help but knowing what to do that is genuinely helpful is tricky. Here are a few tips to keep in mind. Use your best listening skills: give your full attention, validate the thoughts, emotions and needs expressed: “What I hear you saying is…” While it’s important for your ...

Nobody is perfect, and familiarity breeds contempt. It is far too easy to resent family members when they fall short of our expectations, especially when we are under stressful conditions. Pausing to examine your negative thoughts and put them in perspective can save your mental health and your marriage. There’s nothing like the turnover of the year for stimulating lifestyle re-evaluation. How can we make the Christmas spirit of ‘peace and ...

Our marriages deserve our very best, not just the dregs of ourselves. Take the opportunity this Christmas season and New Year to establish better habits and re-prioritise your loved ones. It’s that time of year again — the season of joy and gluttony. By the time Christmas Day is over, our refrigerator will be filled with yummy, delectable leftovers. Unfortunately, not all leftovers are so delicious. Too often in a marriage, ...

God stepped into the messiness of humanity through His very human family, full of scandalous forebears. This Christmas, let us imitate Jesus and love our family members despite how annoying they may get! The Christmas Vigil Mass features the Gospel of Matthew (1:1-25). Depending on whether you get the long or short version, you might hear the genealogy of Jesus Christ — a rather long list of the forebears of Jesus, ...

International Men’s Day was celebrated on the 19th of November, 2021. Its message was stopping the gender war and bringing men and women together. This theme was a welcome change to the media provocation of the tensions between men and women. For so long, the cultural elites and some strains of feminism (and masculinism) have fuelled the divisions between the sexes instead of bridging the gender divide. Dr John Gray has said, ...

Think about your “I do” and make it a daily one. Ask, what will “I do” for my marriage today? It’s a powerful strategy for both the good times and the bad. At a recent business conference, a speaker made an offhand remark about having to recommit to her marriage vows every day. It was in the context of a discussion about the challenges of change management and how reforming a company ...

It happens all the time: one of us does or says something and the other is triggered, reacting harshly. To break the habit of reactivity, try this mindfulness tool to develop the virtue of restraint. While it is often associated with Buddhist meditation, mindfulness has actually been a feature of many religions under different names, including Christianity. It has also become an essential tool in the field of psychology for helping ...

International Men’s Day is more relevant than ever. Celebrating this important day is the key, not just to defending men – but women, children and families as well. In two weeks we will mark International Men’s Day, on Friday 19th November. So why should we celebrate International Men’s Day? The Revolution is Here Ten years ago, its celebration was an optional extra. But today, we are fighting for the very notion ...

There are always ample opportunities to forgive others, especially in a marriage. But sometimes we don’t know how. Consider three tips to help you forgive more easily in the context of a covenant relationship. We remember those long nights in the first year of our marriage. In the infancy of his career, Byron was often late home from work as he juggled the demands on his time. Initially, Francine was so grateful when ...

The key to building trust in relationships is for both people to make their expectations clear and then commit to meeting those expectations. When we look back on our early romance, we note how quick we were to trust each other, even recklessly so. We dived into the relationship with ready abandon and little thought for the risks of rejection or disappointment. Since then, our trust levels have strengthened in many ...