The Catechism of the Catholic Church has three topic areas concerning intimacy: (1) Intimacy between God and His creatures; (2) Marital intimacy; and (3) Respect for and defense of personal intimacy. Our earlier shows, especially Catholic Vitamin A for Adoration, C for Conversion and D for Discernment (of God’s voice speaking to us) — these have all been about growing intimacy between God and us as His created beings. We haven’t yet done much that speaks to the topic of respecting and defending the privacy and individual rights of citizens as balanced against the common good of society.
Our podcast for this topic stays primarily focused on intimacy between husband and wife… and I guess, also on the intimacy of couples preparing for marriage. We might infer some of the skills and ‘balance’ of good and healthy relationships between close friends and family members.
Our guest for this show was Mrs. Lauri Przybysz (press-biz). She has a long record of serving couples in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. She is quite recognized for her work, as attested by the recent invitation of the Vatican for Lauri and her husband John to travel to Italy and to speak with a Vatican organization on how couples may be an active part of new evangelization efforts. (You know — like many others, I’ve been using the words New Evangelization for a year or more — and what hit me is that it isn’t NEW evangelization any more than missionaries going to a remote part of Africa are involved in anything new — it’s the work of Christ. It’s the Gospel — and it’s 2,000 years old.) But I digress…
As you can see by the email copied below — Lauri has given us references for working on intimacy in our lives. And during our interview, I mentioned that I had found a Ten Step Program for couples to work on simple techniques that can build intimacy in our relationships. If you don’t find that document on the Archdiocese of Baltimore website, please send me an email and I’ll send you this document written by Lauri Przybysz.
Thank you Lauri for your time and for contributing to Catholic Vitamin I on the topic of Intimacy.
Dear Deacon Tom,
Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to your listeners.
Here are the details on the resources I mentioned:
1. When the Cake is Gone: How to Get Married and Stay Engaged, audio CD by Dr. James Healy, (www.rootedinlove.org, 2001)
2. Marriage and the Spirituality of Intimacy, by Leif Kehrwald (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1996)
3. Rekindle the Passion while Raising Your Kids, by Tony Garascia (Sorin Books, 2001)
4. The Power of Commitment, by Scott Stanley (Jossey-Bass, 2005)
Also, the Christian Family Movement, www.cfm.org a network of Catholic families, building faith, friendship, and fun to make a difference in the world.
Blessings to you,
Lauri
Mrs. Lauri Przybysz
Coordinator
Marriage and Family Enrichment
Division of Evangelization and Catechesis
Archdiocese of Baltimore
410-547-5420
lprzybysz@archbalt.org
Latest Marriage & Family news at www.archbalt.org/marriage-family