Catholic Weddings

Couples Encounter- What I got out of it

I had my couples encounter this weekend at a church in santa barbara, ca. The couple putting it on was really quirky and were self proclaimed actors. Although we had workbooks to write in, and chapter readings for each topic, the couple mostly talked about their experiences and what is "ok" and a "no no". I wish we would have followed some of the readings in the book and discussed it more because they were really insightful, but I doubt I can get my FI to sit down long enough to go through it all again.

If i had to pick my favorite part, I would say it was at the end where we had to write why we were thankful for our fi's and then write a prayer asking God to bless us. We all had to stare at  our FIs and hold hands and read what we wrote. I couldn't even read the first syllable because I started crying, but it was a nice part.

My question is, what was your favorite part and what do you remember most?
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Re: Couples Encounter- What I got out of it

  • edited December 2011

    My fiance and I went on our Engaged Encounter the first weekend in April. My favarite part was the candle-lit prayer service we held on Sat. night.  Everything about the experience was SO worth it for us.  My FI was NOT looking forward to it because he was also going through RCIA and had been attending quite a bit of retreats and classes, so he felt a bit "retreated-out".  We had highs and lows durring that weekend but we are very grateful for the experience. 

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  • edited December 2011
    I didn't find any of it helpful or meaningful - I'm a little jealous. My expectations were probably too high, since I had friends who had such good experiences. We are in our mid- and late- 30s, and just felt so old compared to everyone else (a few in their teens, mostly early-mid 20s). The questions we were given to work through were issues we discussed long ago, or would never have cared about in the first place. Example, "Do you believe a man and a woman should have some money of their own to spend as they seem fit"? If pre Cana is the first time you're figuring that out about your fiance(e), I'm not altogether sure you're ready to get married...The couple talking about finaces were both grad students and spend 30 minutes talking about the time both of them paid the electricity bill and they ran out of money... I was wondering how couples were planning to support elderly parents who might need nursing home care, particularly if they have children as well.

    The pastor, who opened and closed the day also made some disparaging comments about women that I really didn't appreciate - probably didn't put me in the right frame of mind!
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