self-gift Archives

St. Jean Vianney and NFP

I’m sure I’m not the only parish priest who tends to daydream when thinking of what happened in the village of Ars during the pastorate of Fr. Jean Vianney. In 1818 when he was first assigned the parish was lukewarm, with at most a few people at daily Mass and hardly any regular Communicants. By…

A Nod to the Love Languages

From the Family Foundations archives **** Learning to speak each other’s love language has been crucial for our marriage and it fits remarkably well with our practice of NFP! When Maria and I were engaged, I learned early on that she loved to read self-improvement books — books on relationships, on faith, and when we were expecting…

Do you Have Hands of Mary?

I recently came across this wonderful article, written by a religious sister reflecting on whether her actions follow in the footsteps of Mary’s actions. That is, do our actions point others to Jesus? It’s a great reflection and worthy of your time. But when I read the title, I thought of something a bit different.…

Embrace the Cross

From the Family Foundations archives **** “Embrace the cross” is a phrase that will never find its way onto the cover of Cosmopolitan as a means of improving your sex life. And yet, I’ve found it is the one way that really works. Some couples are dissatisfied with their sexual intimacy; this is evident in the many magazine…

Finding Strength in My Perfectly Imperfect Witness

Humanae Vitae Giving Day * * * By Kara Storey My husband and I just finished teaching another marriage-preparation course yesterday. Every month for the past two years we’ve had the opportunity to talk to young couples about sex and natural family planning. There’s nothing like 40 pairs of eyes staring straight back at you…