Love Connections From our House to your Home
7$.,1* 0$55,$*( ´72 7+( 675((76µ The Great Marriage Challenge is our way of giving thanks to God and sharing His gift of mercy with as many souls as possible. We wish to cooperate with God "to re-‐establish DOO WKLQJV LQ &KULVWµ (SK This is our mission and our promise to God for what He has done for us! This year has been one of tremen-‐ dous success but it has not come without challenges. We realize it is crucial to look back and see the struggles we have overcome in order to recognize the grace and mercy of God that has carried us through the trials and to see His loving hand in all things. Although most of us realize that marriage is the building block of our society and that a lifelong marriage between a man and a woman is good for the couple, their children and society we also know that many of the problems that we are facing are due to the breakup of marriage.
Since his election as Pope in March, Francis has urged the faithful to reach out to others by taking the *RVSHO PHVVDJH ´WR WKH VWUHHWµ GXU ing World Youth Day he said "I would like us to make noise, I would like those inside the dioceses to go out into the open; I want the Church to be in the streets; I want us to defend ourselves against all that is worldli-‐ ness, comfort, being closed and WXUQHG ZLWKLQ µ We are willing to do just that, by embarking on the Great Marriage Challenge tour with our 5 youngest children we will be visiting parishes in different parts of the country to challenge all the couples we encoun-‐ ter to live marriage as God intended and to be a light to a world that is living in darkness.
Regardless of the many attacks being waged on marriage today, we believe that our goal should be to support all couples in having holy and joy-‐filled So, what would you do if you knew relationships. We know from our own there was a solution to the devasta-‐ struggles and those of the many cou-‐ tion, destruction and pain that di-‐ ples that approach us for help that it vorce brings to all affected by it? is only through a change of hearts :RXOGQ·W \RX EH ZLOOLQJ WR WHOO WKH brought about by personal evangeli-‐ world about it, wishing you had the zation that our society can begin to resources to reach all those who change and be reshaped; bringing the need to hear the message of hope Good News to as many couples as that marriage is beautiful because possible is the goal of the Great Mar-‐ riage Challenge tour. that is the way God planned it?
This call could only be answered with the support of the many that collec-‐ tively rose to the occasion to make it possible. From the prayers to the fi-‐ nances to the promotion of the Great 0DUULDJH &KDOOHQJH« RXU DSSUHFLDWLRQ to all those couples and individuals that stepped forward to heroically forge through the obstacles to arrange talks and workshops for the faithful. The Great Marriage tour was made pos-‐ sible by the generosity of 6 donors who believed that taking the Good News of marriage to the streets was a worth-‐ while mission, and it had 3 phases this year, taking us from Florida to Wiscon-‐ sin.
In August we went to Jacksonville, )ORULGD WR SUHVHQW DW D :RPHQ·V &RQ ference and after that visited our good friend Fr. James Dean in Foley Ala-‐ bama, coming back home through Houston. It was a good trial run in preparation for the long trips ahead.
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The trip in September got off to a rocky start as we were hit head on by a distracted driver on the way to our first stop in Wichita, KS, but through the generosity of good friends we were able to get a 15 passenger van to travel in an not have to cancel the rest of the tour, as we wanted to visit the 14 parishes that were expecting us. This leg of the trip took us from Kansas to Iowa across Nebraska to Colorado and finally to Arizona, New Mexico and El Paso. A good friend of ours learned of the accident through Facebook and offered to lend us his RV for the third leg of the trip, as travel-� ing in a 15 passenger van with 5 children 12 and under can be chal-� lenging for the best of parents!
After stopping back home in San Anto-� nio for a 5 day breather we packed our winter clothes and headed to-� wards our own back yard to Dallas, from there to Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vir-� ginia, Maryland and Kentucky. Do not worry about what to take or "how to pack" go and God will provide through the generosity of others. Un-� sure how we would afford the gas from one place to the next we jour-� neyed on with one thing on our hearts. Giving hope to couples and teaching them how to love -� sharing the "gift."
Finally making it home just in time for the Benefit Dinner after visiting more than 30 parishes and talking to more WKDQ FRXSOHV RQ RXU ZD\ ZH can truly say that people are hungry to hear the truth, marriages are strug-� gling and hurting and being able to DQVZHU *RG¡V FDOO WR EULQJ WKHP KRSH has been a blessing. In thanksgiving to each and every one of you -� especially to our spiritual fa-� thers that attended these events -� you priests encouraged not only us but allowed your flock to experience how much you care. Know that we feel humbled by the experience and that we are thankful beyond words for the generosity of everybody that has been a part of this PLVVLRQ ZH DUH JHDULQJ XS WR RQFH again take it to the streets -� West Coast here we come!
What else is going on? CELEBRATING MARRIAGE: THE DIVINE TRUTH This year our Annual Benefit Dinner centered on why XQGHUVWDQGLQJ *RG¡V SODQ IRU PDUULDJH PDNHV VXFK D GLI ference; Teresa Tomeo and her husband Deacon Dominick shared their testimony with all our guests and invited them to work actively in making God the center of their relationships. We asked Teresa to be here because besides being such an amazing evangelist and on fire for the Faith, we have a very good relationship with her and had invited her to be here in April for
our Girls Night Out but she had an event at the Vatican DQG FRXOGQ¡W PDNH LW ,W ZDV DFWXDOO\ SURYLGHQWLDO EHFDXVH KHU DQG 'RPLQLFN¡V SDWK LQ UHVWRULQJ WKHLU UHODWLRQVKLS mirrors so many of the stories we encounter in our work with couples. She has also graciously accepted to be on our advisory board and has been instrumental in promoting The Great Marriage challenge. She definitely grasps the importance of providing opportunities for evangelization for every marriage. The event was beautiful thanks to our amazing group of volunteers and we know much fruit will come from it. We thank all who were there, especially those who beOLHYH WKDW HYHU\ PDUULDJH VKRXOG EH D UHIOHFWLRQ RI *RG¡V love and donated generously to our apostolate.
We have partnered with Gerard and Anna Migeon, the founders of Natural Womanhood (NW) in promoting their apostolate. 1: LV D SXEOLF DZDUHQHVV FDPSDLJQ DERXW WKH EHQHILWV RI FKDUWLQJ DQG QDWXUDO IDPLO\ SODQQLQJ 7KLV FDPSDLJQ GRHVQ¡W SURPRWH Rne NFP method over the other, but encourages couples to learn it from NFP training organizations. Their vision is that all women learn about their body and how to respect it, and that marriages and families become stronger as a result. Natural Womanhood is a grassroots movement. With the help of advocates throughout the US, they hope to appeal to young people and couples who want a more natural lifestyle and more fulfilled marriage relationship. They will be talking about new ways and ideas to talk to couples about NFP. You can read more about this campaign at www.naturalwomanhood.org 2
OUR APOSTOLATE IS GROWING... Because  we  want  to  be  good  stewards  of  all  the  generous  gifts  we  receive,  we  have  moved  our  headquarters  to  a  new  location.  Of  course  we  miss  our  GRN  friends  from  across  the  hall  but  our  new  office  is  a  better  financial  de-Ââ€? cision. Â
We  attribute  the  increase  in  these  partnerships  to  the  exposure  brought  about  by  the  Great  Marriage  Chal-Ââ€? lenge.  Needless  to  say  we  are  in  dire  need  of  having  somebody  with  both  the  knowledge  and  the  heart  to  de-Ââ€? velop  and  sustain  the  relationships  with  all  our  partners  so  we  are  pray-Ââ€? ing  and  discerning  about  bringing  a  full  time  Director  of  COL  Marriage  Ministry  on  board. Â
2013  has  been  a  banner  year  in  so  many  ways  for  TAHA.  Â
We  are  also  looking  to  create  new  re-Ââ€? sources,  as  well  as  producing  new  cur-Ââ€? riculum  for  our  existing  groups.  We  now  have  enough  material  for  5  years  of  Date  Nights  and  our  new  series  will  talk  about  VIRTUES  IN  MARRIAGE  with  Fr.  Wade  Menezes. Â
We  are  excited  to  say  that  in  the  past  three  months  we  have  15  new  COVE-Ââ€? NANT  OF  LOVE  parishes,  bringing  the  total  to  75  parishes,  welcome  to  our  family.  We  have  been  contacted  by  folks  from  Alaska  to  Hawaii,  and  across  the  ocean  from  South  Africa  to  Australia.  Â
is  with  the  creation  of  new  resources  and  outreach.  Because  of  the  addition  of  2  Marriage  Disciples  there  has  been  280  sessions  conducted  for  couples  who  are  seeking  help  and  healing  for  their  marriage.   We  are  also  actively  trying  to  find  the  best  way  to  train  more  than  10  couples  to  be-Ââ€? come  new  Marriage  Disciples;  there  is  not  a  day  that  goes  by  without  us  receiving  a  phone  call  or  email  from  a  couple  that  is  in  need  of  assistance  in  overcoming  an  obstacle  in  their  relationship  and  we  would  not  be  fulfilling  our  call  if  we  do  not  offer  them  all  the  resources  and  hope  we  possibly  can.  Many  thanks  to  all  of  our  existing  partners  who  help  to  make  all  of  this  a  reality.  Â
Knowing  that  increasing  awareness  is  key  for  the  growth  of  TAHA  we  are  partnering  with  a  videographer  to  aid Â
 DQG we need your support. We support the Alexander House because Julie and Greg, instead of just complaining about the decline of our society, actively work to save our society from itself. They figured out, through their own experience and through talking with other cou- ples, that healthy marriages are the cornerstone of healthy socie- ties ² and all the sciences from anthropology to psychology back them up. Despite the over- whelming evidence, our culture mocks marriage and tries to con- vince us that any union between anybody is the same as a Sacra- mental marriage between one man and one woman. The Alex- ander House programs educate couples on what marriage should be and how to live out spousal commitment in the real world.
Furthermore, because our kids see our strong marriage aided by programs like Covenant of Love, they feel more secure and learn techniques to apply in their future relationships. Society tries to convince us that everyone will UDLVH RXU NLGV ´LW WDNHV D YLO ODJHÂľ Yet the only thing a vil- lage is historically famous for pro- GXFL QJ DUH ´YLOODJH LGL RWVÂľ Good citizens typically come from families with strong marriages. It does not take a village ² it takes a man and a woman completely committed to each other, demonstrated by self-Âsacrificial love. The Alexander House works to make marriages healthy and healthy marriages are the best thing for children, men, and women. Statistics and studies show everyone lives longer, is
happier, and is more beneficial to society when they are in a strong, traditional marriage environ- ment. We know in our hearts that mar- riage between one man and one woman is the best institution for human civilization. The Alex- anders help to cut through the noise to remind us of the truth in our hearts.   7KH TXHVWLRQ LV QRW ´:K\ GR ZH support the Alexander +RXVH"¾ 7KH TXHVWLRQ LV ´:K\ GRHVQ¡W HYHU\RQH support the Alex- DQGHU +RXVH"¾
Ron and Kelly Comeau
THE TRUE MEANING OF STEWARSDSHIP: PARTNERS FOR MARRIAGE RON AND KELLY COMEAU
3
ADVENT 2013 What can you do to make your marriage become more centered on Christ ? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Find positive things to be grateful for and say it. %H VSHFLDOO\ DWWHQWLYH WR HDFK RWKHU·V QHHGV Pray together daily. Make small acts of sacrifice for the other. Give your spouse the best part of YOU!
MADE FOR EACH OTHER Join Greg and Julie every Wednesday from 11 to 12 CT on the Guadalupe Radio Network as they discuss: Love, Relationships and Marriage We would love to have you as our guest so give us a call: (877) 211-‐3853 or send your questions/comments/ suggestions to: radioshow@thealexanderhouse.org
WHAT COUPLES ARE SAYING ABOUT THEIR DATE NIGHTS... "With the tools Date Night has provided we are closer and happier together today then on the day we JRW PDUULHG :H FRPPXQLFDWH EHWWHU DQG RXU PXFK PRUH WROHUDQW RI HDFK RWKHU V XQLTXH JLIWV ´ Toledo IA If you are in San Antonio, or are planning a trip here we would like you to join us at our next COVENANT OF LOVE event: THE TRUTH FOR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY with FR. LARRY RICHARDS. Saturday, February 8, 2014. For more information go to our website or to register go to: www.fatherlarry.eventbrite.com
The Alexander House Apostolate P.O. Box 592107 San Antonio, TX 78259
Love Connections is the official newsletter of THE ALEXANDER HOUSE APOSTOLATE (TAHA) a 501(c)(3) organization Printing provided by Smith Print of San Antonio (www.smithprint.net)