Marriage Rescue
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
So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.
– 1 Peter 5:7
Every man experiences evil around him and within himself. This experience makes itself felt in the relationships between man and woman. Their union has always been threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation. This disorder can manifest itself more or less acutely, and can be more or less overcome according to the circumstances of cultures, eras, and individuals, but it does seem to have a universal character . . . To heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the help of the grace that God in his infinite mercy never refuses them. Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them "in the beginning." (CCC 1606, 1608)
When two people get married, they hope that nothing will ever go wrong, that the bliss of their engagement and the first few months of marriage will last a lifetime. They do not always anticipate the anxiety and frustrations that may come due to financial troubles, children, family issues, personal problems, depression, or other factors that affect couples today.
When problems arise, it is a natural human instinct to remove oneself from the situation. Most modern Americans choose that route and their marriages end in divorce. There is help, however, for those couples who are struggling to make their marriages work. If you are having trouble and want to enrich your marriage, we have resources available for you.
One such resource is the Retrouvaille program. Retrouvaille (pronounced re-tro-vi with a long i) comes from the French word for rediscover. It is an international effort to help couples rediscover their relationship and to reconnect with each other. While not an exclusively Catholic program, it has helped couples from many different faiths rediscover the joy of marriage and rebuild a life-long relationship.
We encourage you to visit their website to learn more and to sign up for a weekend retreat that can help your marriage in ways you never thought were possible.
