SmartLoving Conversations

It’s seems that having ‘the sex talk’ with our young tweens is getting more complicated with every generation. For Catholic parents, the presence of cultural forces that contradict our values can feel overwhelming. Join Francine as she explores the topic with puberty education expert Karen Doyle.

With ubiquitous international travel and the advent of digital dating apps, increasingly, people are finding their match in another country. These international romances have unique features. Join us and our guests as we explore the joys and challenges of dating and marrying across continents.

Every nation remembers the sacrifice of their war veterans with a Memorial Day. Thinking about your marriage: is it more of a battlefield than the safe harbour it is intended to be? https://smartloving.org/ 12-war-and-peace-in-the-home-front /

In this episode we will discuss the Marriage Catechumenate I will be interviewing SmartLoving Director Francine Pirola about this concept and vision from Pope Francis. Francine has done a lot of reading and research into this as given two presentations recently to clergy across Australia so in this episode we will explore what it would take to set up and continue to develop a marriage catechumenat...

In this episode we talk about forgiveness - what it is, what it isn't, how to do it, and why it's necessary. Forgiveness is the decision to let go of bitterness and negative feelings and thoughts towards somebody who hurt us and replace them with compassionate feelings and thoughts. When we forgive, we accept that something bad happened to us and say that we want to move on. We become willing to s...

Different personalities. Different upbringing. Different education. Different sexes. Sometimes different ethnic or religious background. With so many differences between us, is it any wonder that making decisions as a couple is complicated and sometimes conflictual. We unpack the SmartLoving

In this episode we reflect on Marriage in the Wilderness. All marriages will go through desert experiences and during the Season of Lent as we reflect on Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to pray and fast and how Christ was tempted by Satan we reflect on our own desert experiences in our relationships with God or in our marriage. How we do we protect against temptations and weaknes...

When is someone too young to marry? What is the research, the experience and the facts about the age at which we marry? We're unpacking the myths, minefields and unexpected blessings of young marriage with SmartLoving graduate, Michael Paton. https://smartloving.org/7-young-and-married/

We all know someone whose marriage is in trouble or has ended. Often, they will drop hints or even speak openly in general conversation. How can we be supportive and helpful to friends and family when their marriage is struggling? Join us, and our guest, as we dig deep into our experience and share what we've learned from the experts. https://smartloving.org/6-how-to-help-a-marriage-in-trouble

We’ve already explored how to deepen our communication as a couple but focusing on sharing our interior life, specifically, sharing at the more intimate levels of Emotions and Needs. But how do emotions and needs relate to each other? And importantly, how do our thoughts impact our emotions? In this conversation we’re exploring these nuances in the interior life so we can go next level in our jour...

Communication is one of the key topics that couples say is so important. While most engaged couples believe they are great at communication, many married couples say they could use some help. What’s going on? Did these couples somehow unlearn how to communicate? Join us as we explore communication – the pitfalls, the benefits, and tips and tricks to make it better. #4 Communication - SmartLoving C...

Our family of origin is the most influential formation because our early childhood experiences created the foundation through which all other experiences were interpreted. We like to think that we are independent thinkers and our own person. The truth is, we are products of our upbringing and experiences. #3 Your Family of Origin - SmartLoving Conversations

Is it possible to love smarter, not harder? We explore the SmartLoving framework of ‘Smart Loving’ and share our cheat sheet for winning in marriage. https://smartloving.org/2-how-to-love-smarter/

What does it mean to make ‘marriage our mission’? With our guest, Philipa Caulfield, we break it down and explore how we’ve done it and why we need it.