Difficult Times in Marriage & Struggling Marriages
Holy Family is here for you as you navigate the seasons or difficulties of your marriage. Please contact the Phyllis Powers-Fata if you would like to discuss resources, get referrals to competent Catholic therapists we trust, or have questions.
Retrouvaille
For couples contemplating separation or divorce, whose marriages have become troubled or stressed, unloving or uncaring, cold or distant; or for those already separated or divorced who want to try again help is available! Retrouvaille (a French word meaning rediscovery) offers the tools needed to rediscover a loving marriage relationship. For information, call (616) 752-7004 or email RetroGrandRapids@gmail.com. All calls are kept in the strictest confidence.
Infant Loss/Miscarriage
Elizabeth Ministry: An international movement designed to support women and their families during the joys, trials and sorrows of the childbearing years. Provides peer support, mentoring, spiritual nourishment, educational and inspirational resources. The organization is particularly noted for its pastoral care strategies for miscarriage. Holy Family also has resources and can provide referrals to local support and assistance.
Infertility
Elizabeth Ministry International and Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction provide support, assistance and information on options, NaPro Technology, and more. Holy Family also has several referrals locally for support and assistance.
Domestic Violence
What is domestic violence? “The Catholic Church teaches that violence against another person in any form fails to treat that person as someone worthy of love. Instead, it treats the person as an object to be used. When violence occurs within a sacramental marriage, the abused spouse may question, "How do these violent acts relate to my promise to take my spouse for better or for worse?" The person being assaulted needs to know that acting to end the abuse does not violate the marriage promises. While violence can be directed towards men, it tends to harm women and children more.” The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides crisis intervention and referrals to local service providers. Call 800-799-SAFE (7233) or 800-787-3224 (TTY). For more information, go to www.thehotline.org.
Addictions
If you or your spouse in the past month has taken a drink first thing in the morning to help you recover from a hangover you may be dealing with an addiction problem. In addition to the person with the addiction, there is often a spouse who suffers from co-dependency.
Unemployment
At first it probably sounds simple. Get a job to pay the bills so we can live happily ever after. But jobs take a lot of time and sometimes that time is stolen from the time that the marriage relationship needs. When Unemployment Hits Home: Seven Ways to Help Your Marriage.
Finances
Financial counselors often point to finances as the most common cause of divorce. That’s only partially true.Financial problems are as much a result of how we think about money as how we spend it. Living Simply: A Lasting and Fulfilling Way of Life.
Infidelity
Healing a marriage when there has been infidelity takes teamwork. Both spouses must commit to getting the marriage back, or possibly getting to where it never was. This calls for courage. Getting Past the Affair.
Pornography
Pornography damages the trust and intimacy within the husband-wife relationship and can even lead to the end of the marriage itself. It draws focus away from one’s family life and relationship with God and sets a destructive example for one’s children. In 2015, the bishops published a formal statement on this subject, called "Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography." How to Strengthen Your Marriage After Porn Addiction.