Should We Go on a Marriage Retreat?

By PETER MARTIN

Continuing education units, annual seminars, monthly company newsletters, license renewals, work-place safety videos… and that’s just a short list of the things that are required of us at work so that we might offer the highest quality of service.

What things are we doing in order to ensure that our marriage is of the highest quality? Employers know that their employees need a break from the day-to-day grind in order that they can learn new tricks of the trade and get a chance to sharpen their skills. They know that sometimes their employees need to be reminded of the things they may have learned in the past, but have forgotten (or have neglected to put into practice.)

How much more important is it, then, for you and your spouse to take some time together! As you are the co-CEOs of your family, your children need the stability of your relationship. In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis recognizes that “[t]he family is experiencing a profound cultural crisis, as are all communities and social bonds. In the case of the family, the weakening of these bonds is particularly serious because the family is the fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with others despite our differences and to belong to one another; it is also the place where parents pass on the faith to their children” (66).

We hope you will consider joining us at our Annual Married Couples Retreat! You can learn more and register here.

Peter Martin is the Director of Life, Marriage, and Family for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester