"Without a life of prayer, you are really not living as a Catholic" - Matt Leonard

What does it really mean to "go deeper" in prayer? And what if you pray every day but don't feel anything? This week we're joined by Matthew Leonard, founder of The Science of Sainthood, to talk about what real spiritual growth looks like. We break down the three modes of prayer, vocal, meditation, and contemplation, and how they form a path to holiness. Matthew shares practical steps for building a daily habit of mental prayer, handling distractions, and creating space for silence. We also talk about how married couples can grow spiritually together without pressure or guilt. If you've ever wondered whether you're making progress in your prayer life, this conversation will give you clarity, encouragement, and a clear next step.

• Prayer is essential, not optional. Without prayer, we're not really living the fullness of Catholic life. A relationship with the Lord isn't an add-on. It's fundamental.

• There's a path to deeper prayer. Vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation build on each other. Vocal prayer engages body and soul. Meditation is daily mental prayer and real conversation with God. Contemplation is a gift from God that we prepare for through faithfulness.

• "Feeling nothing" doesn't mean nothing is happening. Distractions are normal. Lack of emotion isn't failure. Stay faithful, show up, and trust that God is at work beneath the surface.

• Consistency creates growth. Commit to a time and place. Embrace silence. Use Scripture or spiritual reading to focus. Act on inspirations. Over time, deeper prayer opens you to greater grace.

• How can we support each other as we grow in our prayer life?

• What does our personal prayer life actually look like right now, and where do we each feel invited to go deeper?

https://www.scienceofsainthood.com/

Love is not a feeling. It's a daily choice, a habit practiced proactively.

What if intimacy isn't built in the big moments, but in the small ones you almost miss? In this episode, we explore the idea of bids for connection, the everyday ways we reach for each other through a question, a touch, a story, or even a glance across the room. We talk about what happens when those bids are noticed and met with kindness, and what slowly unfolds when they are ignored. You'll hear how responsiveness, presence, and emotional generosity shape trust, passion, and long-term happiness more than grand romantic gestures ever could. If you want a stronger, closer relationship, this conversation will help you see the simple choices that build intimacy over time.

• What are some small bids that you make that I may not always notice?

• What is one simple way we could turn toward each other more consistently this week?

• Bids are everyday requests for connection.
  They can be verbal or nonverbal, big or small, serious or playful.
  
  

• Turning toward builds trust and intimacy.
  Consistent responsiveness creates emotional safety and closeness.
  
  

• Ignored bids create distance over time.
  Missed or rejected bids often lead to frustration, criticism, and disconnection.
  
  

• Vulnerability grows through small, repeated moments.
  Clear, honest bids and kind responses strengthen intimacy more than grand gestures.

https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-case-for-centering-your-life-around-romantic-love

https://therapygroupdc.com/therapist-dc-blog/bids-for-connection-why-small-gestures-matter-in-relationships/

https://www.gottman.com/blog/want-to-improve-your-relationship-start-paying-more-attention-to-bids/

MFP Guide to Communication https://messyfamilyproject.org/guide/communication/

There is nothing that the power of the resurrection cannot redeem in your life. - Fr. Shawn Monahan

What do we do with the wounds we carry, especially in marriage? In this powerful episode, Fr. Shawn Monahan shares a trauma-informed vision of spirituality that meets us in our real stories. We're all wounded, some more deeply than others, and healing begins with honest self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and inviting Christ into our pain. Fr. Shawn explains how our desires are shaped for good, how sin is seeking that good in the wrong ways, and why shame keeps us stuck. Christianity isn't behavior management. It's transformation through relationship. You'll also hear practical wisdom for forgiveness, vulnerability, and praying with your spouse. If you're longing for renewal and lasting peace, this conversation offers real hope. Check out his free workshop, "The Path to Healing Our Broken Hearts." Link below!

• We need a trauma-informed spirituality.
  Everyone carries wounds. Some are deeper than others. The Church must recognize this reality and respond with compassion, emotional awareness, and an understanding of how early experiences shape us.
  
  

• Healing begins with self-knowledge and self-acceptance.
  By becoming aware of our reactions and emotions, we grow in self-understanding. This allows us to accept ourselves and become a true gift to others.
  
  

• Desire is good, but it can be distorted.
  God gives good spiritual desires, and our human desires are also good. Sin happens when we pursue those good desires in the wrong ways.
  
  

• Shame blocks healing, but Christ redeems wounds.
  Christianity is about transformation through relationship, not behavior management. Nothing is beyond the power of the Resurrection.
  
  

• Forgiveness and vulnerability are essential in relationships.
  Forgiveness is a grace-filled choice, not a feeling. Real healing in marriage requires empathy, honest listening, asking "Will you forgive me?", and the courage to be vulnerable.

• When you think about your own wounds, how do they show up in our marriage?
  Share one area where past hurts or early experiences may affect your reactions, fears, or desires. What helps you feel safe enough to open up about those places?
  
  

• What would forgiveness or vulnerability look like for us right now?
  Is there anything unspoken between us that needs to be brought into the light? How can we listen with empathy, ask "Will you forgive me?", and invite Jesus into that space together?

FREE virtual workshop with Fr. Shawn: ​​https://www.omvusa.org/our-work/virtual-workshops/path-healing-broken-hearts/

You can't have a healthy relationship if you don't develop the skill of communication.

Marriage doesn't drift into great communication. You have to make the time and practice on purpose. In this episode, we share simple, realistic tools to help couples break bad habits and start talking in ways that actually bring them closer. You'll learn how to listen without fixing, reduce daily stress through connection and fun, and build rituals that create space for meaningful conversation. We talk about appreciation, gentle ways to start hard conversations, and why prayer changes everything. These aren't abstract ideas, they're practical habits you can try tonight. If your conversations feel rushed, tense, or nonexistent, this episode will give you hope and a clear path forward. Strong communication is possible, and it's one of the greatest investments you can make in your marriage. This episode accompanies MFP 368 Couple Communication in a Frantic Family!

• Take time to practice active listening daily. Quietly receive your spouse's stress of the day (not in your relationship) without comments, only questions to deepen your understanding.

• Create and practice Rituals of Connection. Rituals have a structure, a beginning and an end. You should have short daily rituals like sitting on the couch, time alone after dinner, or meaningful conversation after bedtime.

• Make sure to include stress-reducing conversations! Not every conversation needs to be intense. Create some boundaries and be sure to include some fun!

• Give each other appreciation. Gratitude is the key to happiness. Make sure your spouse knows how important they are to you.

• Practice the gentle start-up when relationship conversations need to happen. Always keep in mind how to best communicate so your spouse can receive your words.

• Pray together. Never forget that God is committed to your marriage and will give you all you need to succeed in communication!

• When can we have one daily stress-reducing conversation?.

• List 5 things you admire about your partner and share them.

• 10 Communication Exercises

• https://www.gottman.com/blog/10-communication-exercises-for-couples-to-have-better-relationships/

• Guide to Communication: https://messyfamilyproject.org/guide/communication/

"Couples often ignore each other's emotional needs out of mindlessness, not malice."

- Dr. John Gottman

Let's take an honest look at how communication breaks down in busy marriages and what you can do to stop it. Most couples don't ignore each other out of malice, but out of exhaustion, distraction, and rushed daily life. In this episode, we unpack why communication is essential for growth and connection, and how unspoken assumptions quickly lead to misunderstandings. Drawing on Dr. John Gottman's research, we break down the Four Horsemen of Communication - criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling, and explain how they quietly damage relationships. More importantly, we share practical antidotes to each one, along with simple habits and conversations you can start using right away to communicate more clearly, stay emotionally connected, and protect your marriage from drifting apart.

• Communication shapes your marriage every day. It's not the big conversations alone that matter, but the daily responses, tone, and small interactions. You cannot grow closer without communicating, and mind-reading is not a real skill, no matter how much we wish it were.

• Unspoken assumptions damage connection. When couples don't communicate, they fill in the gaps with guesses, and those guesses are often wrong. What feels obvious to you may not be obvious to your spouse.

• If left unchecked, the Four Horsemen quietly erode relationships. Criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling are strong predictors of marital breakdown, but couples can recognize them early and recover when they're willing to change patterns.

• Most conflict starts inside us, not with our spouse. Many reactions come from fear, stress, or unresolved issues rather than our spouse's actions. Growth begins when we take ownership and speak from vulnerability instead of blame.

• Engaging imperfectly is better than withdrawing. Respect, appreciation, and choosing to stay engaged, even awkwardly, protect connection. Healthy communication requires effort, humility, and the daily choice to turn toward each other.

• Which of the Four Horsemen are threatening our relationship right now?

• How would you rate our communication on a scale of 1-10? What can we do to improve this?

Resources

• Guide to Communication: https://messyfamilyproject.org/guide/communication/

• Explanation of the Four Horsemen: https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-four-horsemen-recognizing-criticism-contempt-defensiveness-and-stonewalling/

"Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh."

Genesis 2:24

Summary

In this episode, we talk about something every person longs for: belonging. At its heart, marriage is meant to be a place where you are chosen, known, and not easily walked away from. It's a home base, the one relationship you freely choose, where staying matters more than being perfect. Belonging in marriage isn't about constant agreement or effortless connection. It's about knowing someone is still there when things are hard, awkward, or unfinished. Over time, that kind of commitment creates safety, trust, and real intimacy. We also explore why working through the mess together often leads to deeper joy than walking away. Join us as we begin a series on building lasting belonging in marriage, starting with the foundation of healthy communication.

• Everyone needs a place where they Belong and that is found in marriage for Catholic couples

• Build that home base in your marriage by affirming your commitment to each other, not just that you are doing everything perfectly.

• Being known in marriage happens through vulnerability. When you belong you are able to be more vulnerable.

• When you work as a team with common goals that also builds connection and belonging

• How can we continue to build a safe place, a comfort in belonging to each other in our marriage?

• What are our shared goals and dreams?

Resources

• Study showing couples who stay together are happier

• • https://ifstudies.org/blog/for-most-couples-who-stay-the-course-marriage-gets-better-with-time-an-interview-with-paul-r-amato

• Importance of Shared Meaning

• • https://www.gottman.com/blog/enriching-marriage-creating-shared-meaning/

"Love of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God… closing our eyes to our neighbour also blinds us to God."
- Pope Benedict XVI, God is Love

We begin with Love because marriage flows from our deepest identity and relationships, not just spousal dynamics. Created in the image of a loving, Triune God, we must first ask who God is and who we are in His eyes. Our relationship with God and with ourselves forms the foundation for loving others. Pope Benedict XVI's God Is Love reveals that eros and agape are inseparable dimensions of love: we are made to give and receive love. God's passionate, faithful love for His people—fulfilled fully in Jesus—becomes the model for marriage. In Christ, love of God and love of neighbor are one reality. Our first neighbor is our spouse, and loving them faithfully is the primary path to holiness and authentic love.

• Love begins with God, not marriage
  Before focusing on spousal relationships, we must understand who God is and who we are in His eyes. Our identity as loved by God is the foundation for all love.
  
  

• You cannot love others without loving God and yourself rightly
  Knowing and receiving God's love allows us to love ourselves truthfully, which is necessary to love anyone else authentically.
  
  

• Eros and agape belong together
  Human desire (eros) is not bad; it is purified and fulfilled by God's unconditional love (agape). Love requires both giving and receiving.
  
  

• God's passionate love is revealed fully in Jesus
  Christ embodies God's self-giving love and draws us into communion—with God and with others—especially through the Eucharist.
  
  

• Marriage is the primary place love is lived
  Spouses are each other's first neighbors. Loving one's spouse faithfully is the clearest expression of love of God and the path to holiness.

Pdf of encyclical: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est.html

Join the Cana90 Fellowship: https://messyfamilyproject.org/programs/cana90/fellowship-form/

"Let us begin again, for until now we have done nothing," - Saint Francis of Assisi

As a new year begins, many of us focus on where we fell short instead of how we've grown. In this episode, Mike and Alicia invite parents and couples to reflect on the past year by celebrating the gains—not just the gaps—and to recognize the common traps that keep us stuck, like doing too much, being too busy, comparing ourselves to others, or letting our loves get out of order. From there, they share five foundational ways to begin again and make this year better—not perfect, but better: growing in your relationship with God, becoming more fully who God made you to be, investing intentionally in your marriage, being present and purposeful with your children, and choosing real community. You don't have to plan everything—just put the big rocks in place and start again together.

• Start Right Now: Commit to Growing in Your Relationship with God Commit to Becoming More Fully Yourself Invest in Your Marriage—Starting With Yourself Be Intentional With Your Children Choose Community

• How can we "begin again" together

• Which of these take aways are most impactful for us?