The story of the Road to Emmaus is full of emotions and feelings – shock, disappointment, excitement, and joy, to name but a few. It is amazing to think that what, at first glance, for Cleophas and his unnamed friend, was a walk and a meal with a fellow traveller was, in fact, so much more. They experienced the deep, intimate sharing of memories of a loved one, something which changes your world and brings that person back to life in your hearts and minds. Amongst many things, the story of the Road to Emmaus reminds us of the value of sharing our lives with others and how much we can grow and ..read more

This week, we finally finished a project that’s been on our workbench for years—a cross. With Easter approaching, we put in a big effort to complete it. Specifically, it’s a crucifix with a ‘Risen Lord’ figure on the second side. This illustrates Jesus’ love for us when he died on Good Friday and his overcoming death when he rose on Easter Sunday. Completing this project sparked a conversation about “seeing the two sides” in life, beyond just our own viewpoint. During our routine walks, we often ponder which direction to take, recognising that each way offers a different perspective. It’s lik ..read more

The board of Catholic Marriage Care are seeking new members to join them in enabling the vital relationship support services they provide to the Catholic Community and beyond. Marriage Care are the largest faith-based relationship support charity in the UK – providing marriage preparation, support, and low-cost relationship counselling to those in need and making the world of difference to couples and families. The organisation has experienced some significant and exciting developments of late including a partnership with its sister organisation, ACCORD, in Northern Ireland. Through this partn ..read more

By Reverend Roger Carr-Jones   Photo opposite – Roger Carr-Jones and his wife Jackie who also volunteers with Marriage Care. For me, being a trustee has been as much about receiving, as it is about contributing my skills and experience. I have learnt much about myself as I have of my fellow trustee’s giftedness. It is a role in which you discover your own hidden talents and nurture those of others. This has enabled us, as a Board, to arrive at solutions, which working singularly would not be achieved. Being a trustee requires commitment and a willingness to put in some hard work in o ..read more

Have you started thinking about Lent yet? This year St Valentine’s Day, falls on Ash Wednesday.  So how to combine red roses with fasting and ashes?   When we marry we profess in our vows to follow our paths of life together, no matter what that may mean.  We commit to being more than just alongside each other. We promise to love and to cherish one another: to do all that we can to enable our spouse to be happy in this world and in the next, and to grow to be all we can be ourselves. That is our calling. What of our path through Lent? It’s similar as we look ..read more

We hope your Christmas was a blessed time among family and friends for you. We pray that you’ve started the New Year with hope in your hearts. The organisations of the alliance are committed to supporting every marriage, whatever their needs may be. When we married, we saw the spark of light in our partner; an inspiration that we did not comprehend. We made our vow to love and cherish; ie to enable us to grow in understanding of the other.  This needs talking and listening; a willingness to learn and to change ourselves; to enable love, joy and peace to grow. Christmas is said to be the ..read more

Interview with David Oliviere, Barnet and Enfield, Couple Counsellor   Please introduce yourself I’ve dreamt of being a Marriage Care specialist sex therapist or a trauma counsellor or even a wise supervisor. I’m none of these but over the last 25 years with Marriage Care I’ve been ‘just a’ couple counsellor. Opps, I forgot we don’t say ‘just a’ as all our volunteer staff form the core  – counselling workforce , preparing couples,  centre and chaperones and others forming a skilled body of Marriage Care. Inside, I feel a fraud (‘imposter syndrome’?); nervous when I am due to mee ..read more

The events in the world in recent weeks and months have certainly been devastating to see. As our calendars turn to December, we see the country of Jesus’ birth once again go through so much turmoil and become a place of war and disagreement. The now innumerable homeless people, and consequently refugees, are an incredibly stark reminder of the end of the Christmas story, which is often forgotten as the needles fall from our Christmas trees and we face the reality of a new year. For us, the journey into Egypt is full of unspoken emotions – Joseph’s incredulity and fear after his vision of warn ..read more

We have been robbed!    Robbed of a summer with no autumn to speak of and winter now thrust upon us.    Unfortunately, the impending dark winter nights can bring with it fear for many, fear of high energy bills, fear of getting sick, fear of seeing less of family and friends, fear of not getting out and about, fear of driving on icy roads, the list of fears becomes endless and the more we think the more fearful we become. We also tend to watch more television in the winter, very often bringing with it an added fearful element into our homes. News of war, natural ..read more

Photo by Paul O’Beirne   As we drove home after returning our grandchildren to their parents, we followed a tractor carrying a huge cultivator.  Around us, we noticed the fields had been cultivated and were spouting green shoots.  We reflected that after summer is over and we thank God for the harvest, we continue the cycle He has given us.  Cultivate, plant, grow, nurture, harvest. In this month of October, where will our focus be in the Lord’s vineyard?  Today’s Gospel was about two children being asked to work in the vineyard.  Oh, that’s us.   They made t ..read more