Catholic and Christian Marriage Websites and Links

by Fr. Gary Coulter

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Sites of some Featured Authors

• Scott (and Kimberly) Hahn - ScottHahn.com
• Christopher West presents Theology of the Body - ChristopherWest.com
• Steve Wood - FamilyLifeCenter.net and Dads.org
• Dr. Ray Guarendi - DrRay.com
• Mary Beth Bonacci - RealLove.net

Preparing for Marriage:

National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage (NPIM)
Companion site of the US Bishops with various studies and reports on marriage and marriage preparation.

Catholic Engaged Encounter
EngagedEncounter.org
Look for a location near you

FOCCUS/REFOCCUS Premarital & Marital Inventories
FoccusInc.com

CANA - Bride & Groom Communication Online
members.aol.com/blestiam/engagedcouples/cana.htm
A Catholic site which has encouragement for married couples, tips on improving communication, enhancing your relationship and a wonderful reading list for engaged couples planning their marriage. Includes "Together as One," a Catholic discussion book for engaged couple, articles about marriage and marriage preparation and links to wedding sites.

CatholicMarriagePrepOnline.com
Offers an online alternative to Catholic marriage preparation as required by many Catholic dioceses, esp. good for military couples or others whose school or job prevents them from attending conventional classes.

MarriagePreparation.com
For Better and For Ever: an on-line resource for christian and catholic dating/engaged couples by Fr. Robert Ruhnke. Training for "sponsor couples." Retreats for married couples/divorced/singles and more.

The National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM)
Includes a good list of Annotated Resources linking to numerous organizations that help build up marriage and family life.

Preparing for Engagement

Family Life Center International
FamilyLifeCenter.net
In Port Charlotte, FL features a variety of good material on dating and courtship, plus marriage, parenting and other related issues for Catholics and others. They recommend on dating and preparing for marriage:

• Handbook for Engaged & Newly Married Couples by Dr. Frederick Marks
  An indispensable book for engaged and newly married Catholic couples. Both practical and faithful to the Catholic Faith, it presents the teachings of the Church in an entertaining yet uncompromising style. Fr. Paul Marx (of Human Life International) calls it 'The best marriage guidebook I've seen in 45 years as a marriage and family teacher!'
• ABC's of Choosing a Good Wife [NEW RELEASE!] by Steve Wood
  Finding a good wife and lasting love in marriage is a difficult task. Filled with time-tested advice for choosing a godly spouse. It's practical, convincing, full of invaluable wisdom and some surprising new ideas. Guaranteed to increase your chances for a successful marriage. A must read for a man to make the greatest decision of his life.
• ABCs of Choosing a Good Husband by Steve Wood
  Many women today have given up hope of ever finding a good man to marry. This unique book offers practical and prudent advice to women on how to choose a partner for life. It restores hope that a lasting, loving, and fulfilling marriage is possible in a divorce-prone world. Makes a great gift for women and parents everywhere.

Chastity: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults by Fr. Gerald Kelly, S.J.
Written for young men and women of college age, this books presents many helpful ideas on the proper dating and courtship which will help one find a good spouse. Many non-Catholics have also found it helpful.

Natural Family Planning:

Don't forget to check out the resources on NFP by John & Sheila Kippley

NFP Outreach: Facts About Natural Family Planning - NfpOutreach.org
NFP Outreach has accurate, practical, up-to-date facts about the various Natural Family Planning methods. A handy search tool also allows you to find an NFP teacher or resources in your area. Includes a library of documents.

The American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals - AAFCP.org
Formerly the American Academy of Natural Family Planning, a professional organization that provides certification / accreditation for Creighton Model FertilityCare NFP, and promotes research in natural family planning.

One More Soul - OneMoreSoul.com
Many excellent books and resources on NFP and against contraceptives, including Online Publications and Pamphlets, an NFP-only physicians' directory, the great CD (now Free!) by Janet Smith Contraception, Why Not and many other articles and tapes, including Scott and Kimberly Hahan, and Christopher West on Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body.

ScriptureForLife.org - Scriptural teaching on Abortion and Contraception

The Billings Ovulation Method - Drs. John and Evelyn Billings
boma-usa.org
woomb.org - Australia
The Ovulation Method: Natural Family Planning - John J. Billings

Pope Paul VI Institute - PopePaulVI.com

Creighton Model Natural Family Planning - CreightonModel.com

Family of the Americas
FamilyPlanning.net
Information on the ovulation method of Natural Family Planning from Family of the Americas Foundation.

Marriage Enrichment:

World Wide Marriage Encounter - WWME.org
A Catholic ministry committed to continuing and strengthening marital love, making good marriages better with weekend retreats and communication techniques.

National Marriage Encounter - Marriage-Encounter.org

Teams of Our Lady - www.TeamsOfOurLady.org
A Catholic program for groups of couples to form Teams that meet monthly for prayer and study.

Family Ministries - Archdiocese of Chicago
FamilyMinistries.org - includes a full page of Marriage Ministries
Marriage Magazine - Catholic Couples Addition and First Years and Forever E-Newsletter for Newly Married Couples

Claire & John Yzaguirre - ThrivingFamilies.com
A Catholic couple, both mental health professionals, with programs for couples, parents and healthy living.
New book: Thriving Marriages: An Inspirational and Practical Guide to Lasting Happiness A user-friendly "marriage manual" for engaged and married couples. A practical marriage curriculum for couples' and family life ministries.

Troubled Marriages:

The Institute for Marital Healing - www.MaritalHealing.com
Catholic Therapists (Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons) with material for couples, counselors, clergy and educators.

Two good sites to help find competent Catholic Marriage counseling:
CatholicTherapists.com and ExceptionalMarriages.com

General Information:

St. Joseph Communications
Christopher West tapes
Scott and Kimberly Hahn tapes
Msgr. William Smith tapes

TheAlexanderHouse.org
A non-profit organization founded by a Catholic couple offering free online resources consistent with Church teachings, traditional family values and virtues - aimed at educating others about God's plan for marriage.

A page of Post Abortion Resources
Including National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing - "Project Rachel"

Human Family Foundation
Organization dedicated to promoting the dignity of the human family from a Catholic viewpoint as the basic cell of society and the fundamental model of society. Also publishes an online journal.

Women for Faith & Family
wf-f.org
A leading woman's organization advocating the culture of life.

Christian Family Movement
A national network of Catholic parish groups, dedicated to "improving the quality of family life by reaching out."

Family First - familyfirst.org
Nebraska's pro-family public policy think tank (not-Catholic: affiliated with Focus on the Family, but very Catholic views on all issues).