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This week’s must-reads:
+ How effective is Natural Family Planning?
+ “When love doesnāt come with sparkles and butterflies, it means you have to choose to love, whether you feel it or not. You canāt base your marriage or live out a commitment of that magnitude on feelings, because I have news for you: sometimes love doesnāt āfeelā all that great.
Better to go back to the drawing board. What are you missing to revive that flame of love that united you one day? See what aspects might be missing and make the necessary changes and adjustments. Seek professional help and choose someone who wants to help you keep your marriage going.
āForeverā love does exist; it is indeed real. But achieving it depends on you and your spouse. Remember that love is an art that is learned by loving and that seeks the otherās good.
Keep it up! Donāt give up ā instead, reinvent your marriage. You can do it!” — Luz Ivonne Ream
+ How to recognize & rid yourself of attachments
+ “I love to imagine Jesus sleeping in the middle of a storm. First of all, how is that even humanly possible? Is the boat not being rocked and thrown on the wave? Is He not soaking wet? How tired was Jesus, that He could sleep through a storm? But I think, I think thereās a hidden gem here in the posture of Jesus. Jesus was able to sleep through a storm because He wasnāt afraid of a storm. He knew that He had the power to stop that storm, to calm it. He knew that they werenāt in danger, because they were with Him. And so He slept. And I think it sets a model and an invitation to us. I think what Jesus is showing us is that we too can be at rest in the storms of our life, an interior peace, because we know that Heās with us. And that no real harm can come to us as long as weāre with Him. It reminds me of a beautiful prayer from the Novena of Surrender, it says āOh Jesus, I surrender myself to You. Take care of everything.ā And sometimes I pray that, just that last line: āOh Jesus, take care of everything. I canāt get worked up about this. My worry, my fretting, my human attempts to figure it out, theyāre all for nothing. You can take care of it, so I can be at peace.ā — Beth Davis
+ During Lent, weāre meant to unite ourselves even closer to God. Lent is about growing closer to Christ, and sharing in His redemptive suffering.
Itās a penitential season, and itās a time when we can help bear one anotherās crosses as we wait for the Risen Christ. And we can do all of these things in our marriages ā we can grow closer to the Lord by improving our marriages.
Weāre called to help our spouse grow closer to Christ, and theyāre called to do the same for us.
So while we wait for Jesusā Resurrection, while we wait during Lent, letās use that time to commit ourselves even more to our vocations, to God and to our spouses. Maybe instead of focusing purely on self-improvement during this time, letās focus on self-surrendering in both of these relationships. That means dying to ourselves, emptying of ourselves, so that God may live even more within our hearts and our marriages.
+ Taking Your Marriage from Fine to Flourishing
+ “Be sensitive regarding pregnancy announcements. Pregnancy announcements and baby showers can be particularly hard for someone struggling with infertility. Consider telling your friend about your pregnancy privately before announcing it on Facebook or in a group setting. This gives her time to privately process her thoughts and emotions. Acknowledge that the news might be painful for her to hear, and that you know itās not a reflection of how she feels about you. Donāt be offended if your friend feels she canāt come to your baby shower; respect her limits at different points in her journey.” — FemCatholic
