Six "dates." Once a month. In a world full of competing demands for our attention: children, work, friends, etc., time for each other is a rare commodity for most married couples. Yet, without this opportunity for staying connected spouses drift apart and marriages suffer.

The strength of marriages is a concern of the Catholic Church because marriage is the heart of the family, and families are schools of love. Understanding this, parishes are offering programs to encourage couples to make time for each other.

"The Church is built on the foundation of marriage and family life," write the United States Catholic Bishops in their Pastoral Letter, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan. They urge the entire Catholic community to "a renewed commitment to helping those called to the vocation of married life."

The six videos inspire spouses to become aware of the gift that they are to each other as husband and wife. The topics of the six dates are:

DATE 1: ONCE UPON A TIME... invites couples to remember how their love story began and how it has a special meaning because it is connected to God's love story.

DATE 2: MARRIAGE IS ? explains what we believe about marriage as Catholics.

DATE 3: WHAT KEEPS YOU TOGETHER? suggests that it is the goodness they see in each other that keeps husband and wife together. In other words, it is the ability to see God's image in one another.

DATE 4: WHAT ABOUT ME? addresses the problem of selfishness in marriage.

DATE 5: THE BLUEPRINT OF LOVE suggests that to overcome selfishness we need to learn to love as Christ loves. The key attributes of Christ's love are: acceptance, commitment, sacrifice, forgiveness, healing, and service.

DATE 6: WHERE DO I FIND THE COURAGE? reminds us that learning to love like Christ loves is difficult. Prayer and God's grace can help us endure the challenges we encounter in our married life.