Month: January 2013

Five (hundred) Gold Rings!

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barnyDuring this Advent and Christmas season, everyone became engaged or got married.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration…but only a bit! Seriously, there were a lot of engagements. It seemed like every day Facebook was announcing yet another one. During one particular twenty-four hour period, four new engagements were announced!

All this is wonderful news, of course. It’s great to see so many of my male friends, both in America and England, manning up, getting down on one knee and popping the question. For the last few weeks my News Stream has been filled with lots of happy pictures 🙂

As the number of engagements and weddings increased I thought about doing something here on the blog to mark the occasion. I’ve written a little bit about marriage before, but mainly focusing on the theological dimension and the exhortations of the Early Church Fathers. This time I wanted to share something of value concerning the day-to-day life in a Christian marriage, some advice on how to lead one another to Heaven and to keep God at the centre of the marriage as the “third strand”.

However, given that I’m not married myself, I don’t think I’m really in a position to give this advice! So I’ve decided to outsource this post, turning it over to my friends who are already married! I am also going to email my married friends and ask them this question:

As a Christian spouse, what piece of advice would you give all my friends who are committing to marriage?

Please comment below…

UPDATE: I put all the advice together into this post here, Wise Words for Newlyweds.

Wise Words on Wednesday: Peace On Earth

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justice

“Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies; nor is it brought about by dictatorship.

Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice. Peace results from that order structured into human society by its divine Founder, and actualized by men as they thirst after ever greater justice.”

– Vatican II, Church in the Modern World 78.

2013 Resolutions

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The other day I did a review of my 2012 Resolutions and it’s now time to write some for 2013!

Resolution #1. Go dancing at least once a week.
Last year one of my less successful resolutions was to dance “more”. This year I’ve decided to continue the resolution, but this time be a bit more specific. I have to go somewhere at least once every seven days.

Resolution #2. Check bank statements once a week.
Like the entry above, this is a resolution carried over from 2012 which has been made a bit more concrete in an attempt to force me to do it properly. Last year I said “Keep better track of finances”. In 2013 I have to log into my Internet banking once a week.

Resolution #3. Complete Reading List
I’ll be publishing my 2013 reading list here later this week.

Resolution #4. Give up Facebook for Lent
Now that I’ve got my blog posts publishing directly to Facebook, I’ll have absolutely no reason not to get that digital monkey off my back…

Resolution #5. Guard free time more jealously
Last year was the “Year of Martha“. My schedule was packed and at times things got quite stressful. My aim this year is to make absolutely sure I don’t take on too much and that I get plenty of time to rest and recharge. This will involve a weekly Holy Hour, come what may. 2013 is going to be the “Year of Mary” 🙂

Resolution #6. Invest more time in friendships
This resolution flows from #5. I have some really good friends. I should spend more time with them.

Resolution #7. Blacklist TV Shows
Also flowing from #5, I’ve got to stop wasting time watching junk on TV. No more Scrubs, Family Guy, Always Sunny in Philadelphia etc.

Resolution #8. Run a half marathon and do a 15 minute plank
Here’s the mandatory fitness resolution.

Resolution #9. Cook a proper meal once a week
I really do enjoy cooking, but I don’t do it nearly as often as I should. That will change.

Resolution #10. Write the book
I’ve had “Write a book” on my bucket list for several years now and this year I’m going to finally cross it off. It’s going to be an expansion on my Leading Bible Study blog series and I’ll probably publish it with Lulu.com (although I will probably also send the manuscript to Ignatius Press just for fun of pretending to be a real author).

resolution

What are your resolutions for 2013?

When someone leaves

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Last week I came across that great article on Our Sunday Visitor‘s website talking about how to respond when someone you love leaves the Church:

When Someone Leaves Church

It’s really tough when you have to sit and watch someone walk away from the Faith. You want to “fix” the situation and, when you discover that you can’t do it quickly, you all too often do things which simply drives the person further and further away….

There’s some real gold in this article.

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