(Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN)
(Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN)

A few local parishes are hosting dinners for you and your Valentine if you’re interested.

  • Dinner and dance in Ahwatukee — 6:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at St. John Bosco in Ahwatukee. Italian dinner, raffle and door prizes. Details.
  • Dinner and dance in Glendale — 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at St. Louis the King (map). $30 per couple. If you need childcare, it’s $5 per child which includes movie and a pizza. Call parish: (623) 930-1127.
  • Date Night — 5 pm. Mass followed by dinner at St. Andrew the Apostle in Chandler (map). Mass includes a couples blessing. Homemade pizza on the “Barb”-b-que, Lenten reflection for married couples and social time. Email reservations and childcare needs to Davida, davida.graham@standrew-cfc.org.

And before National Marriage Week ends tomorrow:

  • Review these daily tips from “For Your Marriage,” an initiative of the U.S. Bishops. The tips are year-round, however, so peruse at your leisure. I like this reader tip posted Jan. 28. Seems appropriate for the start of the penitential season of Lent

(Reader’s Tip) Every night we ask each other forgiveness for the things we didn’t appreciate or for the things we did wrong or if we’ve offended each other.

  • Tune in to the Radio Family Rosary program at 6:30 p.m. on 1010AM in the Phoenix area (or listen online through Family Values Radio) to pray the rosary together. Afterward, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted will be discussing the sanctity of marriage.
  • This one-pager posted on the Diocese of Dallas website provides an incredible image  (why have I not seen interlocking rings in a heart shape before?) plus three quick Q&A’s for couples who are engaged, married and married with challenges. Resources are from ForYourMarriage.org.
  • For local resources on strengthening your marriage or marriage prep if you’re proposing tomorrow, can be found through the Diocesan Office of Marriage and Respect Life.  You’ll also find resources for marriage rescue, marriage education, divorced/separated/widowed, domestic violence resources.
    For growth as a Catholic woman or Catholic man, there are resources for that too.

Even though the Catholic Church does not officially honor St. Valentine, AmericanCatholic.org offers some insight about the day’s Roman and Catholic roots.