Long Distance/Military Prep?

CaitlinTerese

I don't know if anyone has had any experience with doing marriage prep in the military, but this does specifically relate to our Catholic mass, so I thought I would post here. 

My FI is set to start training in Pensacola in the next week. He was talking to his CO about geting approved to fly back here in 6 weeks for our marriage retreat (which we have not yet registered for) and she basically told him no, that when she was planning her wedding in Chicago while she was stationed in FL and she did all of her marriage prep and everything there, through the military archdiocese. So she wants us to do the same. Boo!

Does anyone know anything about how we can go about handling all this either through the military archdiocese, or through a difference archdiocese than the one that you're getting married in? (FYI: because he's in the military he doesn't even belong to a church in FL - he's considered under the military archdiocese.)

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

professorscience

When H (then FI) and I were at our engaged encounter weekend, there was a guy there whose fiancee was in Brazil.  I didn't understand the whole situation, but my understanding was that she was going through the same classes, and then whenever we had our breakout sessions, the guy would call her and they would discuss.

I've also heard of people doing their counseling through skype, so you could probably look into that.  I know the church is generally very accommodating for military.

OliveOilsMom

It can be common for couples to prepare where they live, even if they are getting married elsewhere.  Your FI should speak with the chaplain at his base to inquire about local pre cana.  And the priest who is marrying you should be understanding to your FI's miltary commitment.  Are you going to be moving to where FI is stationed?  Otherwise, as PP suggested, Skype could work out great for your prep.

BTCarolus

The archdiocese of Chicago (and Miami) has an online version of pre-cana, including a military discount. I would see if your archdiocese has one as well, or uses the same system. It's what we used, basically you have to sign up for it, and then you have access to a series of videos that you need to watch. You each watch them separately, then call/skype each other to discuss the videos and worksheets you did related to them. I thought it was mostly helpful, and there were some extra free e-books and things that were nice. Doing pre-Cana with a group might be more helpful, since by the end we were a little annoyed with some of the videos, and started goofing off a bit rather than paying attention (really, you have to be a moron not to know some of the stuff they cover). But if it's your best option, it's your best option.