Marriage Enrichment
Marriage and Respect Life
400 E. Monroe
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Mike Phelan
Director of Marriage and Respect Life
(602) 354-2355
Matt Anderson
Coordinator of Respect Life Parish Leadership Support
(602) 354-2132
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility. In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values. (CCC 1643)
You put a lot of hard work into preparing for your marriage, and even more hard work into living out your marriage in every day life. But have you thought their might be ways to enrich your marriage and help it to grow and flourish amid a busy and stressful schedule? Within the Diocese of Phoenix there are several opportunities for couples to enrich and enhance their marriages. For example, World-Wide Marriage Encounter (WWME) in Arizona offers weekend retreats for couples looking to grow in their ability to communicate and share life together. This is not a program for couples whose marriages need to be rescued, but a program for couples who want to build up their marriage so that it never has to be rescued from separation or divorce. WWME describes their program in this way:
Worldwide Marriage Encounter is a positive and personal experience for a couple, which offers them a technique of loving communication that they can use for the rest of their lives. It’s an opportunity to look deeply into their relationship with each other and with God. It’s a time to share their feelings, their hopes, fears, frustrations, and joys. Worldwide Marriage Encounter is not a professional counseling service. It is not a retreat, nor is it a marriage clinic or sensitivity course. It is not a time to look at the past, but rather to look to your future together. The weekend is a positive, simple, common sense experience between a husband and wife that revitalizes marriage.
WorldWide Marriage encounter is led by Catholic couples and a priest that are faithful to the magisterium, but it is open to couples of all faiths who want to enrich their marriages. To learn more or to register for a weekend, sign up here.
