"Marriage is hard work." This familiar expression is one that all couples in happy, healthy marriages understand. Christian married couples are called to commit themselves entirely to each other, and always make the marital relationship their top priority. All couples, even those in the strongest marriages, need to be affirmed and re-energized from time to time.
MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER
Marriage Encounter (www.wwme.org) is a weekend enrichment program designed to help build communication skills between husband and wife. A series of presentations given by married couples and a priest provides meaningful reflection for couples to refocus on their relationship, with private time for discussion away from the distractions of every day life. Couples who complete a Marriage Encounter weekend have an opportunity to join a local community of other "encountered" couples to continue to build on the positive experiences of their weekend as they develop a deeper level of intimacy in their marriage.
Check our event calendar for dates and locations; to make reservations for Marriage Encounter weekends in Central New Jersey, please contact Jack and Annarose Parra at 1-888-827-NJME.
For Marriage Encounter weekends in southern New Jersey, contact Bob and Michelle Dooley at 1-800-688-9963.
For Hispanic Marriage Encounter Weekends please contact Raul and Rudy Avila at (609) 448-0098.
RETROUVAILLE
Retrouvalle (www.retrouvaille.org) or "rediscovery," is an intensive weekend and post weekend program originating from the Marriage Encounter movement to help couples in troubled marriages. The Retrouvaille experience gives couples the tools they need to get to the root of marital discord, repair the trust in their relationship and develop a deeper level of intimacy in the marriage.
BISHOP'S ANNIVERSARY BLESSING Sunday, October 6, 2013
3 p.m. in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, Trenton, NJ
The Bishop's Anniversary Blessing is an annual celebration to honor married couples in the diocese celebrating their 25th, 50th or over wedding anniversaries. Bishop O’Connell confers his Episcopal Blessing upon the couples and presents them with a personalized certificate to commemorate this very special occasion.
Registration through your parish is required. Download the registration form HERE.
Living in Love - Mini Retreat for Married Couples
Held in Selected Parishes
Living in Love is a mini retreat workshop for married couples designed to energize the romance and renew the excitement of being in love. This day and a half parish-based event provides the insight that enables each couple to create the lifestyle and marriage they have always dreamed of. The weekend is a series of presentations followed by questions for reflection and private couple discussion. The program is grounded in solid Catholic teaching on marital love, inspired by Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Topics include: Dreams and Memories, Formation in the Family, Cultural Barriers, Trust, Reconciliation, Affirmation, Signs and Wonders, Living in Love, and Vision.
If you are considering working with engaged couples of your parish, this is the initial training for Preparing to Live in Love, a new parish mentoring program for the engaged. Mentor training also includes Living in Love Everyday skills training for married couples. Learn how to incorporate the valuable relationship skills form your LIving in Love weekend into daily married life for the best marriage possible, as you learn to share these skills with engaged couples.
To learn more about the Living in Love Marriage Retreat and Living in Love Everyday skills training, or to hold a LIving in Love retreat at your parish, contact Peg Hensler, Coordinator of Marriage Ministries, 609-403-7156.
The Love Languages - A Crash Course in Couple Communication
All engaged and newly married couples share the same hope - they all desire a "soulmate" relationship - the kind that enables them to truly understand each other, and share their innermost thoughts, desires, and dreams. Great couple communication can only take place when couples are completely in tune with each other's communication styles.
In response to the needs of today's Catholic and Interfaith couples, the Department of Youth, Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Trenton offers our parishes the opportunity to sponsor a very special program based on the bestselling book by marriage expert, Dr. Gary Chapman - The 5 Love Languages. This parish-based worshop is designed to enable couples to identify their own individual communication styles, and learn how to mesh the two for the most harmonious and deeply intimate relationship possible.
For upcoming workshops or for information on how to offer this workshop in your parish, please call Beatriz Cancel in the Department of Youth, Marriage and Family Life at 609-403-7151 or bcance@dioceseoftrenton.org
World Marriage Day Dinner Dance
Saturday, February 9, 2013 4:30 - 10:30 pm (Mass, Dinner and Dancing)
St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, $50 per couple
The annual celebration of World Marriage Day, established in 1982, salutes the beauty of married faithfulness, sacrifice and joy in daily life. Our diocesan World Marriage Day Dinner Dance is open to all married couples. Couples from throughout the diocese will gather to celebrate Mass with the parish community, followed by a festive occasion featuring cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, an elegant hot buffet dinner from Drexelbrook Catering, dancing (music provided by DJ Ron Meisner) and much more. For more information, contact Beatriz Cancel (609-403-7151); bcance@dioceseoftrenton.org. To register online with credit card payment, click here. For mail-in registration, use the registration form below.
World Marriage Day 2013 Registration Form
Mini Retreat for Married Couples
This parish-sponsored mini-retreat provides an opportunity for married couples in the Diocese of Trenton to be renewed in joyful hope and refreshed in God's gracious love. The event is offered for couples of all ages, from the newly-married to those celebrating many years of marital happiness. To learn more about this special retreat or for information on how to offer the retreat in your parish, please contact Peg Hensler, 609-403-7156; phensl@dioceseoftrenton.org.