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Here are this week’s must-reads:

+ “The Church teaches that through the sacrament of Matrimony, you and your spouse are assured of God’s constant help. Therefore, you must firmly trust in God.” — Fr. Lovasik

+ “What does marriage look like after grief? Marriage becomes a lot different,” Danny said. “I think if you embrace the pain and suffering, And you do it with prayer, it’s like you’ve gone through a hot furnace and it’s like a purification.” // Leila said “marriage does become challenging after grief because each one of us is grieving… So you go through the cycle… He might be angry, or I might be angry at a different time from each other. But me and Danny were fortunate, because of the forgiveness and because of our faith, our love has become deeper,” she said.

She said they have learned to be more patient with each other, to have fewer silly arguments. When one of them is frustrated, they try to listen, knowing the frustration is not with them. “We’re more compassionate. We have more empathy,” she said. “We look at each other… with a different set of eyes,” Danny finished Leila’s sentence.” — read it here

+ “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”Ruth Graham

+ “If you are married and want to fight evil, die to your pride and love your spouse in every little way. There is nothing the devil can’t stand more than a happy married couple that is growing holy together. Be one. Love one another. Pray together. Be each other’s best friend.” — Fr. Victor Perez

+ “The love between husband and wife is never meant to be stagnant. Nor is it about going back and re-discovering the initial romantic feelings that brought the couple together when they were “falling in love.” It’s always about discerning the next step God is inviting them to take in growing in unity, trust, friendship, forgiveness.” — Dr. Edward Sri

+ “Holiness means giving ourselves in sacrifice every day… And so married life is a tremendous path to sanctity.”Pope Francis

+ “Danny criticized an overemphasis in some Christian circles on the glorious, resurrected Jesus without any focus on what came before “That’s one thing I love about the Catholic Church, they really talk about the suffering Jesus and apply it to our lives,” he said. “With or without Christ, we’re all going to suffer… This grief and trauma that we’ve experienced, it’s actually taught us [about] … the suffering Jesus, the theology behind it, and how we can apply it to our lives, because no one has done it better than Christ in his suffering. He’s the one that showed us what to do,” Danny continued.” — read the whole post here

+ “Perhaps the Lord is telling us that his love is not measured simply in the physical, in the miracles and the healings, but perhaps even more so, in the absence of those. That his love is shown, even more deeply, in the crosses, the trials and tempests of our lives, in the seeming absence of his power and love. That God permits sorrow and suffering for the very end of drawing us into himself, for an intimacy and sharing-in that could not be achieved any other way than through a share in his passion: “You seem, Lord, to give severe trials to those who love you, but only that in the excess of their trials, they may learn the greater excess of your love.” — Amber VanVickle

+ “True love prays. True love does not only wait, it prays in the waiting. In the struggle, in distance, in grief and valleys, in joy and mountaintops, love prays. Prayer is love’s official language.” — Angelittle Blog

+ When healing doesn’t happen // Our Lady of Lourdes

+ “It is not always what appears to us to be grand actions that are grand in the sight of God.” — Mother Mary Potter, Our Lady’s Love of Domestic Life

+ “Recently I read a testimony of a guy who saved his marriage simply by writing down things he loved and appreciated about his wife every single day. ⁣I don’t want to wait until my marriage needs saving to do that. I want to be in the habit of appreciating him now, and never stop.⁣ ⁣I found myself thinking about this a lot when he was gone this weekend, so I wrote some down…” — Jana Zuniga

+ “The three hardest things for us to say are also the most healing. And we can ask for the grace to help us say them. Pray for that grace today. Seek it in Confession. See it at work in the Scriptures. And discover it at work in your own life…” — Sr Orianne

+ “Sometimes when I am in such a state of spiritual dryness that not a single good thought occurs to me, I say very slowly the “Our Father,” or the “Hail Mary,” and these prayers suffice to take me out of myself. – St. Therese of Lisieux

+“The best thing for us is not what we consider best, but what the Lord wants of us!”St. Josephine Bakhita

+ “I was fixing my daughter’s hair in the bathroom at church and a young woman commented about how nice it was to see me taking care of my girl. She’s a new mom and wants to love her daughter well, so she asked… “What is one piece of mothering advice for a new mom?” So I gave her three:

1. Laugh and smile more often than you want to, even if you have to fake it a little. Your happiness brings your children peace. 2. Mother them, don’t manage them. They are people, not problems to be solved. Mother to their hearts. 3. Don’t let resentment grow. The hard times are a privilege. If not you, then who? Cultivate gratitude for what you get to do for them… I told her that these words of advice were formed by my regrets and not by my excellence. I am still learning, apologizing, changing, and healing…” — Melody

⭐ Here’s what’s featured in this week’s Catholic Wife, Catholic Life Collection.

I share these every Monday and they always include: two gluten-free recipes, a reflection & prayer based on Sunday’s Mass readings, and links to budget-friendly fashion & Catholic home decor. When I’m creating them, I always look up the upcoming feast days and find pieces to complement them so that you can have some examples of how to decorate for the different feasts & Liturgical seasons!

Those who sign up for the newsletter now also get:

+ a 25% off promo code to use with The Catholic Company! 
+ a 15% off promo code with House of Joppa
+ a 15% off promo code with The Little Rose Shop
+ a 15% off promo code off $40 purchases with Telos Art.
+ a 15% off promo code with The Little Catholic
+ a 15% off promo code with West Coast Catholic

+ a 15% off promo code with January Jane Shop
+ a 15% off promo code with Annunciation Designs.
+ A free download of this black & white Our Lady of Czestachowa image.

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