In my years as a Director of Family Ministry, along with my years as the Director of the Brooke Family I have come to know that one of the greatest problems that enters marriage and family life is what I would call “unmet, or unrealistic” expectations.  I served as the Director of Family Ministry for several years for my local diocese and part of that work was getting phone calls from couples in crisis, thinking divorce was the only option that they had.  

The beautiful penitential season of Advent is once more upon us. Advent is a two part symphony as it were, with the first two weeks focusing our attention on the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. But how often that focus gets pushed aside by all the rush to bring the goodness and beauty of December 25th far too early, and when we are often ill-prepared spiritually and even emotionally for it.