Diocesan Resources
Consultation on Sustaining & Enriching Marriage: The Parish Community and Marriage Enrichment by Butch and Linda Moses (2007)
Consultation on Sustaining & Enriching Marriage: The Parish Community and Marriage Enrichment by Butch and Linda Moses, Co-directors, Adult and Family Ministry, Holy Family Catholic Parish, Irving, Texas
Marriage enrichment – the strengthening and sustaining of the vocation of marriage throughout the life cycle – is both a challenge and an opportunity for the Church. We believe it is also a responsibility for parish ministers. While many dioceses and parishes have very well-developed and comprehensive marriage preparation processes, couples are often left on their own to seek and find ways to nurture and sustain their marriage. It is the parish where couples gather Sunday after Sunday…celebrating the sacraments…where couples often participate in marriage preparation and experience a connection with a mentor couple…where couples often turn to pastors and pastoral ministers if they are experiencing difficulty in their family life.
When a parish is intentionally committed to offering marriage enhancement opportunities, couples can depend upon their Church for support, encouragement, education and an experience of sacredness. Parishes have a unique opportunity to strengthen the bond not only between the couple – but also between the couple and the community. For couples who are formed in the Sacrament of Marriage in the parish, there is a natural progression from marriage preparation to marriage enrichment. Their sponsor couples, who prepared them, ideally stay in contact with them – friendships are formed and relationships develop. Through Unitas, God’s Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage, For Better & Forever, etc., mentor couples, modeling for the engaged a sacramental marriage, are often the people couples turn to if they find themselves struggling in their own marriage. They frequently become extended family.