Category Archives: Marriage and Family

The Centrality of the Christian Family

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father is on his visit to Croatia and he has had some splendid things to say during his travels there. I read this morning of his comments about the Christian family. Here they are, in part: Dear parents, … Continue reading →

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Now It’s Up to Us

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Minnesota Legislature passed a constitutional admendment defining marriage in this state as being between one man and one woman. Now, it is up to us, the voters, to ratify this in the ballot box. My friends, don’t assume this … Continue reading →

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Archbishop Dolan on “Marriage: the core of every civilization”

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York wrote a wonderful post on the archdiocesan blog regarding marriage. You can read it entirely at: The Gospel in the Digital Age. I want to present a lengthy quote for those of you who … Continue reading →

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American Assumptions and Catholic Anthropology About Marriage

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I read an intriguing article today written by Catholic theologian Tim Muldoon about the attempts in our country to redefine marriage. In his article, he speaks of the current American assumptions about democracy and the meaning of marriage as being … Continue reading →

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Marital Sexuality and Procreation

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Deacon Bob

My youngest sister sent me a link to a post in the religion blog at CNN (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/10/my-take-catholic-church-should-reverse-ivf-opposition/?hpt=C2 ) It is written by a Catholic man about his understanding of the Church’s opposition to in-vitro fertilization (IVF).He expresses his opinion regarding … Continue reading →

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Marriage? Dead or Alive?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I couldn’t help but both chuckle and shudder when I read Fox News’ report that Cameron Diaz has declared traditional marriage a “dying institution.” According to Fox News’ reporting of what was a Maxim interview with Diaz, she said, “I … Continue reading →

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Is Social Media Hurting Your Marriage?

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Deacon Bob

In my clinical practice, one of the things I am encountering more and more is the impact that social media has upon marriages. Facebook is almost as common in households as cell phones (neither of which I have… well, I … Continue reading →

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Marriage and the Diaconate- Theological Considerations

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Deacon Bob

My wife and I attended this past weekend an annual diaconate day of reflection that was well-attended. The presenter was Deacon Joseph Michalak from the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis. In the afternoon session, he spoke of marriage and the diaconate. … Continue reading →

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The State of Maryland and “Same Sex Marriage”

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Deacon Bob

You probably didn’t hear of this, as the secular press didn’t disseminate it very much from what I can tell. The Maryland House of Delegates effectively stopped a bill legalizing “same-sex marriage” on March 11th. From what I have been … Continue reading →

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Speaker of the House agrees to defend DOMA

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Catholic News Agency is reporting that Speaker of the House John Boehner agreed yesterday to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court after the Obama administration refused to do so. He promise to convene a bipartisan legal … Continue reading →

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Defense of Marriage — Follow up

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I want to thank one reader for challenging me on my post several days ago regarding the defense of marriage. I responded to his message, which you can read below, but I want to essentially bring that message to the … Continue reading →

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The president’s decision on DOMA may have impact on religious liberty

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Catholic News Agency has an article today written by Kevin J. Jones on the potential impact of the Obama’s decision to no longer defend in court the Defense of Marriage of Act (DOMA) passed in 1996. U.S. Attorney General Eric … Continue reading →

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The Defense of Marriage

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I was asked to preach this morning at a parish other than the two to which I am assigned. As you may know, the Gospel from Mark was all about marriage. Since I hadn’t anticipated preaching, I spoke without more … Continue reading →

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The Superstition of Divorce

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Here is a quote from G.K. Chesterton regarding marriage and divorce. I believe he wrote this in 1918 in a series of articles called, “The Superstition of Divorce.” “The obvious effect of frivolous divorce will be frivolous marriage. If people … Continue reading →

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A Piece of Advice for Spouses

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Log on to: For Your Marriage website for some very great ideas about how to live the sacrament of marriage. Here is one of their daily tips: “True, you can’t buy love, but the media tempts us to believe money … Continue reading →

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