Welcoming and Accepting
A commitment to welcoming and accepting one another is the foundation of any marriage relationship. Acceptance is not something that happens as you speak your vows at your wedding. Acceptance is an expression of love that must be repeated day after day, in good times and in bad, no matter how difficult that might be in a particular moment. This is why the attitude of welcome and acceptance is the first step in building your relationship with the plan that God has implanted in your heart. We learn more about that plan from scripture, and we encounter it fully in the love of Christ when we take part in the sacraments of the Church. Without welcome and acceptance it is not possible to love your spouse as God intends you to.
Dig deeper into the topics covered in chapter 1 of the Joined by Grace Couple’s Book by reading the following articles.
Intercultural Marriage
Intercultural Marriage: Making It Work (For Your Marriage)
Catholics Lead Effort to Overturn Bans on Interracial Marriage (Catholics for the Common Good)
Common Issues in Mixed Marriages (InterNations)
Interfaith Marriage
A Welcome to Those Who Aren’t Catholic (JoinedbyGrace.com)
Preparing for an Interfaith Marriage (U.S. Catholic)
Ecumenical and Interfaith Marriages (For Your Marriage)
A Catholic Priest’s Perspective on Interfaith Marriage (Interfaith Family )
Marriage as Vocation
The Vocation of Marriage (Diocese of Shrewsbury)
A Great Catholic Marriage Revolution (Catholic Herald)
The Vocation of Marriage (For Your Marriage)
The Vocation of Marriage (Diocese of Rockville Centre)
The Sacrament of Baptism
Baptism and RCIA (USCCB)
On Baptism (Peter Vaghi)
The Sacrament of Baptism (Word on Fire)
Temperaments
Personality Types, Spiritual Gifts, and How They Play Into Our Marriages (Kindred Grace)
Getting Professional Help for Troubled Relationships
13 Signs You Need to Visit a Marriage Counselor (The Huffington Post)
Counseling (For Your Marriage)
Support for Troubled Marriages (For Your Marriage)
Top 10 Underpublicized Reasons to Seek Couples Counseling (PsychCentral)
Communication in Marriage Tips
5 Obstacles to Effective Listening (Together for Life Online)
The Myth of Multitasking and the Power of Listening (Together for Life Online)
Effective Communication and the Theology of the Body (Together for Life Online)
Communication Skills for a Happy Marriage (Together for Life Online)
Family Communication (CatholicMom.com)
10 Guidelines for Couple Decisions (Simple Marriage)
Win Hearts, Not Arguments (Engaged Marriage)
Five Tips to Fight Less and Love More (For Your Marriage)
Do You Talk Too Much? (CatholicMom.com)