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This episode is sponsored by Alto from Ascension.
Alto is Ascension’s monthly printed prayer companion that brings together, daily Mass readings, Morning and Night Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, reflections, saints, novenas, and more—all in one place. Learn more and subscribe to Alto here: https://ascension-press.linkjolt.io/redirect?tc=WfiAGx9e&aff=yiwH1nGSUbss9NbfLPx5K
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Today’s episode:
Family life is hard sometimes. That doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong. Bedtime battles. Potty training. Kids who need you constantly. Work changes. Caring for aging parents. Moving. Financial stress. Seasons when you and your spouse love each other but barely have enough energy left at the end of the day to talk.
In this episode, we talk about the temptation to treat the normal difficulties of marriage and family life as problems that need to be fixed—and how to discern the difference between a difficult season you need to walk through and a situation where you really do need help.
St. John Paul II offers a beautiful way of looking at these seasons: “Family prayer has for its very own object family life itself, which in all its varying circumstances is seen as a call from God and lived as a filial response to His call.”
In this episode:
• Why difficult doesn’t automatically mean dysfunctional
• The temptation to make comfort the measure of a healthy family
• Why some parenting struggles are simply part of raising children
• How prayer changes the way we experience difficult seasons
• How to discern when you may actually need help
• Why John Paul II tells young couples to seek out experienced married couples
• What real human accompaniment gives us that the internet and AI cannot
• How couples who have been helped can eventually become the couples who help others
Chapters
00:00 Is Your Marriage Broken or Just a Hard Season?
02:43 Are Companies Selling Solutions to Normal Parenting Struggles?
04:28 When Parenting Leaves No Time for Your Marriage
07:26 Why Difficult Parenting Seasons Are Normal
08:19 Why Your Children Need You So Much
10:18 St. John Paul II on Prayer During Hard Family Seasons
12:25 Alto: Making Prayer Easier Without Your Phone
14:16 Other Difficult Seasons of Marriage and Family Life
15:06 Stop Wishing for a Different Season of Life
17:13 Are Your Kids Really the Problem?
18:12 How Do You Know When Your Marriage Needs Help?
19:36 Why AI Cannot Replace Experienced Married Couples
21:13 Finding Support and Wisdom from Other Couples
23:43 Becoming a Source of Encouragement for Other Families
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BOOKS, WRITING, AND RESOURCES
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✍️ Read our writing on Catholic marriage, family life, communication, intimacy, parenting, and ordinary holiness: https://twobecomefamily.substack.com
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