The Marriage Myth
Part 5 in the Quest for Happiness Series Too many times have we heard the complaint – “I’m just not happy in this marriage anymore”. For couples today, personal happiness has become the measure of whether a marriage is ‘working’. The mass media and our romantic fantasies conspire to convince us that we have a…
Read MoreMercy Gospel Reflection: Jan 10
Gospel Reflections for Married Couples 10 January – The Baptism of the Lord In this week’s Gospel reading, some people are beginning to think that St John the Baptist might be Christ. Instead of taking the glory for himself he humbly points them in the direction of Jesus. Sometimes, in marriage we can steal the limelight…
Read MoreWhat is Happiness Anyway?
Part 4 in the Quest for Happiness Series Speaking of what makes a wife or husband happy (see SmartLoving The Equality Myth, What Women Really Want & What do Men Want?) perhaps we should look at what happiness is and more importantly, whether it really is the ultimate goal. ‘Happiness’ should be distinguished from ‘joy’.…
Read MoreWhat Do Men Want?
Part 3 in the Quest for Happiness Series In all the discussions about what makes a wife happy (see Smart Loving What Women Really Want & The Equality Myth), it strikes us that the happiness of husbands is often overlooked. Actually, it’s rarely on the agenda. That in itself says something about us as a…
Read MoreMercy Gospel Reflections: Jan 3
Gospel Reflections for Married Couples 3 January – The Epiphany of the Lord In this week’s Gospel, the wise men visit Jesus bearing gifts. Take a moment this week to reflect, as a couple, on the wise men and women (couples) in your life to whose marriages you aspire. As you reflect on these…
Read MoreWhat Women Really Want
Part 2 of the Quest for Happiness Series If equality in work isn’t the answer for making happy wives (see Smart Loving, The Equality Myth), what is? According to the same study that looked at the division of labour*, the best predictor of marital satisfaction among wives was emotional connection. ‘Emotion work’, as psychologists call…
Read MoreThe Equality Myth
Part 1 of the Quest for Happiness Series Inequality in the division of labour at home has long been a sore point for married women. In theory, the egalitarian model of the modern dual-income, shared-homemaking marriage should solve this problem; as women move into the paid workforce, men would assume more responsibility at home.Right? This…
Read MoreMarriage Enemy #1: Lethargy
We asked a marriage counselor friend of ours about why a marriage fails. We were expecting a long complex answer so we already had a bottle of wine open. Yet her answer was short. According to her, if there are no addictions or mental illness involved, then most marriages fail through simple, straight-forward laziness. Almost…
Read MoreBusiness Time
We were reading an article today about an African tribe that refers to sex as the ‘work of the night’. It made us think of this classic from the Flight of the Conchords. Makes us laugh! Enjoy!
Read MoreMercy Gospel Reflection: Dec 25
Gospel Reflections for Married Couples 25 December | Christmas At Christmas, we are called to reflect on the great love of a God who humbled himself to become a person like us. On Christmas Day, we celebrate Jesus coming into the world to teach us how to love. He does so in the most humble…
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