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Marriage Prep upgrade

agapecarrieagapecarrie member
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in Catholic Weddings
I came back during Lent cause I was excited to share something.

I ran a TOB intro series this past Saturday at my parish, and there was a couple there who were recently married and reported their EE was not very good--- as in those leading were not trained and filtered through- they wish they had this series instead. I had heard this about our diocese, including other programs, and I talked to my pastor about it, who was disturbed. We had a good conversation and he likes the idea of me running the Christopher West "God's Plan for Joy filled marriage" based on TOB twice a year for our engaged couples. I'm so excited because this program is known for being highly evangelistic.

Anywho. Prayers for this to be successful.
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Re: Marriage Prep upgrade

  • Calypso1977Calypso1977 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    that's awesome!

    gosh, i wonder if other priests are in the dark about their marriage instructors.
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    That is awesome!

    Sending T&P your way for a huge success!
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  • doctabroccolidoctabroccoli member
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    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_marriage-prep-upgrade?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:7ea336e4-6045-47a6-b495-9ad7b8d2dcc9Post:b0d82f19-94da-4731-9a01-da049510e796">Re: Marriage Prep upgrade</a>:
    [QUOTE]that's awesome! gosh, i wonder if other priests are in the dark about their marriage instructors.
    Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

    Quite honestly, how would they know unless people told them?
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  • agapecarrieagapecarrie member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    THe way it works in our diocese is couples have several options. One of them is a mentor couple that is found within the parish, and the priest knows them.

    Another is a diocesan written and run program- large group

    THe other options involve programs not directly under diocese-- EE and another program at University. These are the ones I'm hearing the stories about. 
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  • bel138bel138 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    That's great!

    calypso: When we told our priest we had a "stand in" priest for our retreat, he was shocked at who they picked. He appologized because he knew it had to be horrendous. We didn't have any "lay" couples, just two priests and a super awesome deacon and his wife.
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  • caitriona87caitriona87 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Awesome! Prayers that it will change hearts. God bless you.
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  • Jasmine&RajahJasmine&Rajah member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Fantastic!  God bless you immensely for your commitment to Truth; may He also bless this endeavor and those who benefit from it!
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  • ellen73ellen73
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_marriage-prep-upgrade?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:7ea336e4-6045-47a6-b495-9ad7b8d2dcc9Post:b0d82f19-94da-4731-9a01-da049510e796">Re: Marriage Prep upgrade</a>:
    [QUOTE]gosh, i wonder if other priests are in the dark about their marriage instructors.
    Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

    We were encouraged to do pre-cana at the church where we were doing our prep (the parish I belonged to, got married in a different city, DH lived in yet another city).  The preist who did our prep also was involved in the pre-cana at the parish.   It was great (a priest or two,  about half a dozen couples who gave talks/led worshops/etc).   He even looked into DHs parish (called to find out what the pre-cana was like) and he gave that his "okay" too!    The priest that actually married us told us certain parishes/pre-cana days to avoid if we chose to do pre-cana in that diocese.  

    I can see how that could be soemthing that could easily fall through the cracks.   Weekends and experiences could differ drastically depending on who is leading the weekend or the day. 
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  • doctabroccolidoctabroccoli member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_marriage-prep-upgrade?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:7ea336e4-6045-47a6-b495-9ad7b8d2dcc9Post:874fb947-e3af-45ce-bb92-59e5a7ec683f">Re: Marriage Prep upgrade</a>:
    [QUOTE]THe way it works in our diocese is couples have several options. One of them is a mentor couple that is found within the parish, and the priest knows them. Another is a diocesan written and run program- large group THe other options involve programs not directly under diocese-- EE and another program at University. These are the ones I'm hearing the stories about. 
    Posted by agapecarrie[/QUOTE]

    I think those of us at smaller parishes are the ones who tend to fall through the cracks as the only option for us is something lead by the diocese as opposed to being offered anything within our parish......... 
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  • bibliophile2010bibliophile2010 member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Congrats, Agape! We were required to attend God's Plan, and I thought it was absolutely fantastic (even though I was sick that day --ugg!). I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about Catholic sexual teaching and to anyone who is getting married.

    We were given several options for the portion of our marriage prep that could include EE, which seems to be getting phased out in my diocese, replaced by a similar diocean class or parish-specific classes. There is probably more oversight for those situations, which is perhaps why I have not encountered some of the problems that you guys have. I can only imagine the reaction Bishop Olmsted would have if he found out some of the things that others here have related. (/tangent)

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  • agapecarrieagapecarrie member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I would even recommend it to anyone who is already married (newlywed or not) for catechesis or a refresher. I've been to all the classes at the institute so far, seen and directed the TOB dvd series 4 times now, and even as I watched it this last time, was still affirmed, renewed, and inspired again.

    Edit for clarification:

    Intro to TOB series  is different from "God's plan for a joy filled marriage"

    Both based on TOB, one is specific for marriage prep, the other is for anyone "if you have a body this is for you".

    I was merely commenting on the renewal I had in hearing West speak again.
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  • linzluvsgzusslinzluvsgzuss
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Carrie, for those of us not close to the midwest, is there a DVD equivalent of what you're talking about? FI and I enjoyed our EE, but we would love anything that would help make us ever better formed and prepared for becoming a Sacrament.
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  • agapecarrieagapecarrie member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Yes...What I've been talking about are dvd series:

    "God's Plan for a joy filled marriage"
    this one is specific to marriage preparation


    "Introduction to Theology of the Body" is also very good. and can be just as helpful.

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  • clearheavensclearheavens member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    I agree with you, agape, I really enjoyed God's Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage more than any parts of my marriage prep.  I 100% recommend it.  Prayers your way that it'll be successful in your diocese.

    For the DVDs that linzluvsgzuss asked about, here are the links:



    I know some of the DVDs can be costly.  Maybe you can ask the parish to get them for their parishioners or you can donate them to your parish.
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  • agapecarrieagapecarrie member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Also, if you are brand new to TOB stuff, I recommend the one hour "Gift Series" video to begin with.

    The way I promote it is this: If you are redoing a bedroom, you need to clean out the old furniture before redoing the paint/carpet, and then putting new furniture in. This one hour video helps clean out that old furniture.... skipping it  might be like trying to cram new furniture in with the old. Its not necessarily that way if you've heard of or know basic TOB stuff, but I think the one hour one is a great introduction.
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  • linzluvsgzusslinzluvsgzuss
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for the DVDs names and links carrie and clearheavans. I've heard a bunch of TOB talks and I even have a Christopher West CD that I LOVE, but it's such a rich and beautiful teaching I feel like you can't really know enough or have heard enough, ya know? Plus, I'm always on the lookout for good resources to use with teens or young adults or even my older young adult friends.

    Happy Triduum ya'all!
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  • agapecarrieagapecarrie member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    there is a brand new dvd series by Christopher West for young adults/college. It's called "Freedom to love" also at asension press
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  • mica178mica178 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    That's all very good news.  I've stated on here before that I felt that our EE could have been better and that I was disappointed that some of our EE leaders admitted to doing things that went against church teaching without any acknowledgement that their choices might fly in the face of Catholicism.  I hope that your program works out well for the couples in our church!

    Oh, and I've recently started reading Christopher West's "Theology of the Body for Beginners."  It's a very interesting read!
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