Upcoming Events
Living Catholic Marriage
Living Catholic Marriage is an experience of like-to-like ministry: couples encouraging other couples by their shared experience of living their marriage in faith. It is facilitated by the Marriage Enrichment Ministry of St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, Dana Point CA.
PREP: "Marriage a Lifetime of Love"
A series of six evenings for married couples who want to enhance and maintain a lifelong, loving partnership. "Marriage a Lifetime of Love" is based on PREP©. PREP (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) is one of the most comprehensive and well respected divorce prevention/ marriage enhancement programs. There is no fee for this program. Registration is required. Please e-mail ssj(at)ssj.org or call (714) 962-3333 to register. Click for 2013 Flyer .
Thriving Marriages: A 3-part Couple’s Mini-Retreat + CD’s series
This 3-part mini-retreat series, developed and presented by Dr. John Yzaguirre & Claire Frazier-Yzaguirre, M.F.T., M.Div., teaches couples how to have lasting and happy marital unity. Ideal for seriously dating, engaged and married couples of all ages, this series, offered in English and Spanish, provides an exciting and effective marriage formation track for couples, that equips them with the essential skills to deepen their empathy, cope with their busy lives, and strengthen and restore their relationships. Excellent for kicking off or growing your church marriage fellowship, these retreats can be offered in 3-hr ‘mini-retreat’ format or full-day format. The Thriving Marriages books and CD’s are key companion resources to the mini-retreats to keep couples growing and as resources for couples sharing groups and other couple’s events.
Thriving Marriages mini-retreats will help your couples:
Session 1:
How to enjoy a thriving marriage through a Christian vision of unity and the essential dynamics of empathy, autonomy and mutuality.
Session 2:
How to develop a resilient marriage by eliminating resentment, fear, helplessness and by becoming agents of joy.
Session 3:
How to become compassionate lovers by learning the healing and restorative power of forgiveness and reconciliation
Based on Jesus’ prayer ‘that all may be one’, this marriage formation track gives couples a fresh vision & a practical plan to live a life of unity in their marriages and families. It equips them with the key skills to sustain and strengthen their relationship through the ups and downs of their marital journey. Ideal for offering through your RE & AFF programming for families.
Please go to: http://www.thrivingfamilies.com to book this series in English and/or Spanish and to see additional seminars offered on parenting, stress management, spirituality, and women’s retreats.
Treasure You Marriage: Five part DVD series
This is a five-part DVD series developed by Sister Helen Szekely, CSJ, Ph.D. that shows how to meet marital challenges of today and forge a marriage you can truly treasure.
Treasure Your Marriage stands out for several important reasons:
1. Using professional actors, it depicts highly nuanced scenarios to illustrate the psychological principles and challenges of day-to-day family life.
2. It integrates a deep faith commitment with thorough psychological teachings.
3. Homework and special techniques are built into the program to achieve and sustain desired changes.
4. It stresses the importance of maintaining values to nurte healthy relationships such as is implicit in the Biblical message that "...anyone who lives in love lives in God and God in him." (1 John 4:15)
To learn more click here .
A program designed to help couples establish and strengthen vital relationships at all stages of marriage. It is built on both sound psychological principles and Christian values. Every couple participating in the program will gain valuable insights into the dynamics of a long-term intimate relationship. It is especially helpful for couples in the early years of marriage because the risk of estrangement and divorce is the greatest at that time. Couples begin their lives together with great love and cherished hopes, yet when their expectations don’t materialize, disillusionment may propel them towards divorce. Couples who have been married for many years may also experience challenges and will find that Treasure Your Marriage offers new direction and renewed hope for a joy-filled marriage. The series deals with the following topics:
- Build Your Marriage
- Expectations Color Marital Satisfaction
- Communication Shapes Relationships
- Conflicts are Part of Life
- The Joys and Challenges of Parenthood
Saint Bonaventure offers this program twice a year, spring and fall. There are (4) four 2 ½ hour sessions that both husband and wife or both fiancés must attend together. For married couples this provides what we like to refer to as a marriage “tune-up”. You tune-up your car, you do preventive maintenance on your home. Your marriage deserves at least as much maintenance. Attending a marriage enrichment program is like having marriage insurance. Don’t wait till it breaks down. We enjoy some playful exercises and view and discuss 5 DVD’s. Please consider making a date with your spouse to attend. This class not only gives married couples an opportunity to enhance their relationship, it provides the certificate for Marriage Preparation for couples looking to have their marriage convalidated or blessed in the Church, and for engaged couples, the certificate needed for Marriage Preparation. For more information,
Contact Julie Ford at (714) 846-2359
Spring session begins Tuesdays April 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd, 2013.
Duffy East Meeting Room
Please sign up in the Parish Center or
Call Celia at (714) 846-3359, Ext 495. We have room for 25 couples. There is no charge to attend for the 4 weeks, however donations are welcome.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter- Orange County
Marriage Encounter is a dynamic marriage enrichment experience. Since its beginning in the United States in 1968, couples and priests have volunteered their time and energies to bring the Marriage Encounter Weekend to couples everywhere. Couples from all over the world have experienced the beauty and the gift of the weekend. They want to share that experience with you, because they found something worth passing on.
To register for a weekend retreat, please contact: John and Maggie Lee (714) 873-5136 or e-mail them at leewwme(at)att.net.
Click here for a Registration Form
If you have further questions about the weekend itself, please call: John and Catherine Arthur at (714) 532-3132 or e-mail them at arthurs6(at)me.com
Go to:http://www.angelfire.com/me2/wwmeorange
Encuentro Matrimonial
El Encuentro Matrimonial esta diseñado para dar a las parejas la oportunidad de examinar su vida juntos... Es un tiempo para compartir sus sentimientos, sus esperanzas, desilusiones, gozos y frustraciones de una manera abierta, honesta, en un encuentro cara a cara, corazón a corazón con la persona que han elegido para vivir por el resto de su vida.
El énfasis del Encuentro Matrimonial, es en la comunicación entre esposo y esposa, los cuales la pareja pasan el fin de semana juntos y lejos de las distracciones y de las tensiones de la vida diaria para concentrarse el uno en el otro. Este no es un retiro, tampoco una clínica de matrimonios ni un grupo de sensibilidad. Este es un enfoque único orientado a revitalizar el Matrimonio Cristiano. También es un tiempo para que la pareja estén juntos, para redescubrirse mutuamente y para concentrarse en su relación por todo el fin de semana. http://www.emm14.org
Todos los fines de semana se llevan a cabo en:
Guest House Hotel
12500 Firestone Ave.
Norwalk, Ca. 90650Contacto:
Nicólas ? Julia Cervantes
(714) 523-7244
Marriage Resources/Recursos Matrimoniales
An Initiative by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
This website provides resources and information for dating and engaged couples, ongoing formation for married couples, and tips for parenting.
La Iglesia puede hacer la diferencia al mantener unidos a los matrimonios y a las familias hispanas. El apoyo que las parejas hispanas encuentran en sus parroquias y en otras comunidades basadas en la fe, puede ser la clave para un matrimonio sólido y una familia saludable.
Institute for Marital Healing
The mission of the Institute for Marital Healing is to strengthen Catholic marriages and families by educating spouses, marital therapists and clergy about common causes of conflicts in marital self-giving and effective approaches to alleviating such conflicts. Through a combination of online resources, educational programs and publications, the Institute employs a time-tested approach to marital therapy that recognizes the importance of both science and faith in the process of marital healing.
We provide an empirically proven approach for resolving marital anger, the most common conflict which leads couples to seek marriage counseling. We demonstrate a sensitivity to the Catholic faith of couples and show how their faith can assist them in the strengthening of their marriages.
The Institute for Marital Healing
100 Four Falls Center
Suite 312
West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Phone: 610-397-0950 or 610-397-0960
Marriage: Unique for a Reason is an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Marriage: Unique for a Reasonoffers resources to assist with the education and catechesis of Catholics on why marriage is unique and why it should be promoted and protected as the union of one man and one woman.
Marriage: Unique for a Reason es una iniciativa de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos (USCCB, por sus siglas en inglés).
Marriage: Unique for a Reason ofrece unos recursos para asistir en la educación y en la catequesis de católicos acerca de por qué el matrimonio es único y por qué debe ser promovido y protegido como la unión de un hombre y una mujer.
A program to Help Couples Heal and Renew their Marriages.
· Do you feel lost, alone or bored in your marriage?
· Are you frustrated, hurt or angry with your spouse?
· Are you constantly fighting? Or, do you simply shut down?
· Have you thought about separation or divorce?
· Does talking about it only make it worse?
... Retrouvaille provides marriage help!
Un programa para ayudar a las parejas sanar y renovar sus matrimonios.
· ¿Te sientes perdido, solo o aburrido en su matrimonio?
· ¿Se siente frustrado, herido o enojado con su cónyuge?
· Si eres constante lucha? ¿O, simplemente apagar?
· ¿Ha pensado en la separación o el divorcio?
· Se habla de que sólo lo hace peor?
... Retrouvaille proporciona ayuda en el matrimonio!
Website: http://www.retrouvaille.org/
Contact: Mike and Eileen Kunkel
(714) 306-6469
Next Retreat:
A Lifeline for Troubled Marriage
A Lifeline for Troubled Marriage – Retrouvaille (pronounced retro-v?) helps couples through difficult times in their marriages. It is designed to provide tools to help get your marriage back on track. You will have the opportunity to rediscover each other and examine your lives together in a new and positive way. This program has helped tens of thousands of couples experiencing marital difficulty at all levels including disillusionment and deep misery. For confidential information or to register for the May program beginning with a weekend on May 31st call:
(714) 306 6469 or email:
visit the web site at www.HelpOurMarriage.com
Getting married and staying married can be quite a challenge! Together for Life Online was developed as a community of engaged couples, married couples, and ministers to help couples build strong, life-long marriages with God.
At Together for Life Online, you will find:
- ideas and tips for planning a Catholic wedding
- marriage advice from the TFL community
- the opportunity to connect and share ideas about building strong marriages
- quality resources to help strengthen your marriage
52 Ways to Support Marriage in Your Parish
Why Marriage Matters: 30 Conclusions from the Social Sciences