Friday Feedback 8 –
By John and Lori
We appreciated your genuine caring and desire for us to be a holy couple!
John: I appreciated the fact that the material was grounded in Scripture, and the Magisterium of the Church. I have a Master’s in Theology, so I have studied ‘about’ marriage and the Sacraments before, but I never prepared to receive the Sacrament myself. By covering a range of material, from creation to in vitro fertilization, in a holistic organic way, you helped me to better understand and appreciate the Church’s unbroken Tradition in a new way.
What is your overall impression of this prep?
His answer: I am absolutely delighted. The instructors really helped to personalize and enhance the course with their insightful commentary.
The content was unquestionably Catholic and of the highest quality. Everything was very relevant and helpful to a couple who is truly searching for God’s will and hoping to enter into a covenant relationship.
The process itself, answering questions individually and as a couple, forced us to reflect and communicate our ideas to each other as well as to the instructors.
Even though we have both studied theology and are practicing Catholics, to study ‘about’ a sacrament is different than preparing to receive one.
I thought the course was well designed, and would recommend it to anyone who is considering marriage.
Her answer: I loved this class! I thought it was very thorough in that it covered a broad range of topics and issues that surround marriage. But more importantly, it taught and brought into a wonderful and positive light the Catholic Church’s teachings and perspective of the Sacrament of Matrimony. I really liked the exploration of the relationship between Adam and Eve, man and woman. It gave me new insights into how we are different and how we have our respective roles and responsibilities toward each other.
It was ALL great…each lesson was a deep learning experience and helped me appreciate even more God ¿s gift of love in offering us (me and J) this unique opportunity to enter into HIs Life together, as a married couple.
Did it meet your expectations?
His answer: Yes. It exceeded my expectations. And I thought it would be a good course! Deacon Richard Grant from Our Lady of Mercy, Baton Rouge, recommended it to us.
He said he was familiar with the program and had heard only positive feedback.
He recommended it to us because of the fact that we live so far away from each other, and doing a retreat together didn’t fit into either of our schedules.
I honestly feel that we got a lot more out of this program than we would have gotten out of a retreat. For one thing, you can take some time to reflect on the questions and your answers. For another, you can do research to find the answer, and work together to come up with a best answer. Then, finally, you can study the responses of the instructors.
Her answer: Absolutely! This program went beyond my expectations. I expected it to present the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage, etc.. and it did, but we were also given references to read in each lesson and suggested books to obtain to help us to continue to grow in our understanding of marriage. The visual aids were helpful too. The feedback was personalized and thoughtful. I don’t think a weekend marriage prep retreat would have been as thorough as this course. Because of the way it was presented, we had time to pray and reflect on the material as well. I think all couples should choose to prepare for marriage in this way.
What did you appreciate most and why?
His answer: I appreciated the fact that the material was grounded in Scripture, and the Magisterium of the Church.
I have a Master’s in Theology, so I have studied ‘about’ marriage and the Sacraments before, but I never prepared to receive the Sacrament myself.
By covering a range of material, from creation to in vitro fertilization, in a holistic organic way, you helped me to better understand and appreciate the Church’s unbroken Tradition in a new way.
I knew ‘about’ NFP for example, but had never practiced it. I thought, That’s for those married people.
Now I think, That’s for us.
Her answer: I appreciated the fact that it was comprehensive…from Genesis to today. As mentioned above, I like the links and references to books we can read to keep growing…and of course the personal feedback from Amber and Greg.
It’s important to be given information, to know the Truth, but it’s equally important to understand WHY God through the Church teaches us how to love and express that love in a way that is healthy and holy.
This course did an excellent job of helping me to understand these in a deeper way.
How did the course revive – or not – your faith?
His answer: Yes. During the course I felt a renewed desire to welcome God into my daily life. I am now responsible to and for someone else. I want God to be the foundation of our relationship. I want the Church to be our second home.
Her answer: Yes, it did remind me in a powerful way that God has given me a great gift and that He is with me always, acting for my good out of infinite, unfailing love! This has definitely renewed my prayer life and desire to be united to Him through our marriage.
Did the course help you improve your communication and sharing?
Yes. It definitely provided a framework and the time and material. We have discussed most of these issues already, but the course gave us a holistic context within which to discuss them again.
Should we have separate or joint accounts? – What is God’s will? How do our financial decisions impact our marriage? We don’t have all the answers, but we know the areas that we need to pay more attention to.
Visit Agapè Catholic Ministries‘ to register for the Catholic Marriage Prep course. To learn more about the course, please visit https://www.catholicmarriageprep.com/course-info/courses-info
