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Printable Worksheets on Loving Your In-Laws #freebie #4KEYS

By Karee Santos

turning-union-into-communion-in-laws

It’s time to talk about in-laws! This is number three in the worksheet series for our Catholic marriage book, The Four Keys to Everlasting Love. Since chapters are organized by topic, you can join the discussion at any time, even if you’re late to the party. So please feel free to participate in the 4 Keys Online Book Club on Facebook, where we discuss the book every Saturday. TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THIS WORKSHEET, CLICK HERE.

Chapter 3 Worksheet

Turning Union into Communion:

Extending Your Love to Your In-Laws and Beyond

Marriage is more than the union of just two people. It’s also a union of two families. A married couple needs to craft a delicate balance between two Biblical priorities. First, they are called to leave their father and mother and cleave to their spouse, as it says in the Book of Genesis. Second, they still have the duty to honor and respect their parents, according to the Ten Commandments.

Many couples struggle with learning to love their in-laws. It helps to remember that in most cases what the in-laws really want is for your marriage to be successful, long-lasting, and happy. By loving our in-laws and extended family members, we follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

The more differences there are between the two families of origin, the more difficult it can be. As Manny and Karee say in Chapter Three of The Four Keys, “The two of us have extended families that include Sevillanos, Madrilenos, Colombians, French-Moroccans, Poles, Argentineans, Egyptians, and Virginians. Our family members’ religious affiliations range the gamut from Catholicism to Episcopalianism, Judaism, Coptic Orthodox, and former Muslim.”  When we join our families in a new community of life and love, we fulfill Jesus’ desire that all the peoples of the earth may be one.

In Chapter Three, Manny and Karee show how marriages have a powerful ability to draw relatives closer together and how respectful communication techniques that work for the two of you also work with in-laws. They recount fascinating and amusing stories about relationships with in-laws from the Bible’s Old Testament. Chapter Three also teaches you how to:

  • Draw appropriate boundaries between yourselves and your in-laws
  • Respectfully listen to your in-laws ‘advice, even if you don’t ultimately follow it
  • Negotiate trouble spots like wedding planning, gift exchanges, and hosting the holidays

Conversation Starters

You can use the following conversation starters to get a discussion going among yourselves or in a small group. If it helps, think it over on your own time, take it to prayer, and jot down your answers before talking about them.

1. How would you describe your process for deciding how much involvement your in-laws have in your married life?

 

 

2. Can you remember a time when the two of you reached an impasse on this issue? How did you resolve it?

 

 

3. How do you handle holidays? Do you see room for improvement?

 

 

4. What do you believe is your responsibility toward both sets of your parents as they become elderly?

 

 

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Read all posts by Karee Santos Filed Under: Catechist Training, Featured, General, Sacraments Tagged With: Catholic marriage, extended family, in-laws, marriage advice, sacramental marriage

About Karee Santos

Karee Santos is a happily married mom of six and a popular writer and speaker on Catholic marriage. Karee and her husband, Manuel P. Santos, M.D., began teaching marriage preparation and enrichment classes in New York City in 2003. They are also co-authors of The Four Keys to Everlasting Love: How Your Catholic Marriage Can Bring You Joy for a Lifetime (Ave Maria Press 2016). Karee's writing can be found on her personal blog Can We Cana? as well as many other places around the Web.

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