3 minute read
Marriage Encounter: A VALUABLE OPPORTUNITY TO ENRICH OUR SACRAMENTAL COVENANT
As St. John Chrysostom once said, “The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together.” In a society that doesn’t value marriage and family life as it once did, it has become all the more important to be very intentional about caring for your marriage.
For parishioners Steve and Jodi Stauffer, making their marriage a priority was something that they did from the very beginning. Jodi’s parents had attended the Worldwide Marriage Encounter that took place in Nebraska in 1976. So when Steve and Jodi got engaged, they went on an Engaged Encounter and a few years into marriage and parenthood, they attended a Marriage Encounter. Eventually, they became a presenting couple for these Marriage Encounters.
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“The busyness of life, kids, and careers can make it easy to put your marriage on autopilot,” Steve says. “We typically put a lot of effort into developing our careers, but we often don’t think about how it is just as important to develop our marriages as well. If you are going to continue to grow in your marriage, you need to keep putting time and effort into it.”
“It can be compared to maintaining your vehicle,” Jodi adds. “If you don’t do the proper maintenance on it, it isn’t surprising when suddenly things start going wrong and major repairs are needed. Proper maintenance is required for our marriages as well.”
The Worldwide Marriage Encounter was the first marriage enrichment program ever offered. It is the largest faith-based program in the world. The program’s mission is to proclaim the value of Marriage and Holy Orders in the Church and in the world. Typically, the program sessions take place over a weekend, though since the onset of COVID-19, virtual Marriage Encounters have been offered. The weekend is put on by three presenting couples and a priest. There are presentations on various topics and those in attendance are given time to discuss the presentations.
“Every marriage goes through phases,” Jodi says. “You aren’t the same people you were when you got married. These encounters offer you the chance to really rediscover that spark and even remember why you married this person in the first place. This isn’t marriage counseling, but you learn new tools for communication to enhance the marriage that you have.”
“This really benefits more than just your marriage,” Steve says. “It trickles down into other areas as well. A healthy marriage is so important for the children. Even your friends will notice. Love is a choice and we choose it every day, no matter what other issues are going on.”
As Jodi notes, when a couple gets married in the church, they are inviting God to be a part of their marriage.
“We take a look at how God is a part of our marriage and how we can increase that,” she says.
“Our marriage is 100-percent stronger than it would have been without being a part of this ministry,” Steve says. “We use these tools for communication in our marriage, but we have also used them while raising our children. It has given us a tremendous support system through life’s trials and blessings.”
