Dating and Single Life

Are you confused about how to find your true love? Do you want to work on a current dating relationship, preparing it for engagement and marriage?

Packed into 101 bite-sized suggestions, 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person is the help you need to approach dating with confidence and joy, while at the same time helping you become the best, most marriage-ready version of yourself. Jennifer Roback Morse and Betsy Kerekes offer inspiration and advice for all stages of your relationship.

With research conducted by the Ruth Institute and almost fifty years of marriage experience between them, authors Jennifer Roback Morse and Betsy Kerekes have compiled their best tips to inspire and support Catholic singles during all stages of dating and engagement. The life-changing ideas in 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person offer short, practical suggestions that will help you find a mate and build a strong relationship.

You'll find advice for meeting other Catholic singles, questions to ask yourself before getting too serious, and topics to talk about before engagement. Tips include:

When you're on the first date, or once you're in a relationship, see the other person for who they are. Avoid thinking you can change him or her; only God can do that.

Don't expect your significant other to be perfect when you know that you are not.

If you're interested in someone who isn't Catholic, have an open discussion about how you each expect faith to impact your relationship and potential marriage.

Morse and Kerekes clearly articulate the challenges that face single Catholics today. The hook-up and cohabitation culture is prevalent in our society and in the media, making the temptation to succumb strong. The authors want you to know that you aren't weak for being interested in these options, but you are strong enough to resist them. You can combat these challenges by recognizing single life and dating as ideal times to discern your own call to the vocation of marriage as well as your dating relationship's readiness for the sacrament.

Finding a spouse has never been easy. But, it's also never been quite so hard, especially for good Catholic girls intent on having strong Catholic marriages to nice Catholic boys.

So what are all those good Catholic girls to do? How do they navigate the increasingly long (and usually trying) years between college and "I do" without losing their sanity or their soul?

Consult The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide for the Single Years: The Nuts and Bolts of Staying Sane and Happy While Waiting for Mr. Right.

Steeped in the Church's teachings on the feminine genius, marriage, and theology of the body, The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide dishes with both wit and wisdom on some of the most pressing questions single women face: vocation, dating, sex, finances, work, depression, and more.

As hopeful and honest as it is fun and faithful, The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide for the Single Years is the perfect companion for women whose journey to "I do" is turning out to be a longer one than they (or their mothers) would have liked.

"If we want love, why do we often settle for less?"
-- from the Foreword by Jason and Crystalina Evert

Tired of toxic relationships, many young adults want to clean up their love lives. They desire to give their lives to Christ and turn away from sin--but without a concrete plan, they quickly fall back into old habits. Featuring daily reflections and resolutions, this forty-day detox provides a practical "cleanse" for those who want to purify themselves from the poisoned dating culture and live a life of authentic freedom, respect, and love.

Inside you'll find:

Compelling and clear explanations of "God's plans for love, dating, and sex"

Hopeful true-life stories of people who have successfully moved from desiring chastity to actually living it

Practical tools, habits, and strategies to live more virtuously with joy and freedom

Building on the legacy of Pope John Paul II, it is significant that the first encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI is dedicated to the topic God is Love. The Holy Father demonstrates that it is agape, the self-sacrificial love of God that empowers romantic love, eros, with life-giving and meaningful existence. In The Love That Satisfies, Christopher West draws from the Pope s letter a series of insightful and inspiring reflections on the nature of eros, agape, and the relationship between the two. He shows that it is through recognizing and embracing the beauty of God s self-sacrificial love that a person is able to truly be satisfied. In uniting the love of God to the love of spouse, the nuptial bond is fulfilled. Perhaps even more profound is the reality that God and the Bridegroom of the Church has a personal love for his Bride that may certainly be called eros (Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, n. 9).

Bestselling author Gary Thomas transforms the way you look at romantic relationships. His unique perspective on dating will prepare you for a satisfying, spiritually enriching marriage.

In the revised edition of his hit book The Sacred Search, Gary Thomas helps single people of all ages make wise marital choices by rethinking what basis those choices should be made on.

You will be encouraged to think beyond finding your "soul mate" and instead adopt a more biblical search for a "sole mate"--someone who will walk with you on your spiritual journey.

Thomas asks, What if we focused on why we should get married more than on who to marry? What if being "in love" isn't a good enough reason to get married? And most of all, what if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?

The Sacred Search casts a vision for building a relationship around shared spiritual mission--and making marriage with eternity at its heart.