Marriage is the heart of the family. All areas of married life – rearing children, caring for elderly relatives etc – are based on a harmonious relationship between husband and wife. Therefore, it is essential for spouses to review the state of their marriage once in a while, as well as to renew their relationship regularly through honest, deep sharing.
Topics:
– Reconciliation with one another and with their children
– Encounter with Self
– Confidence
– Dialogue
– Unity
– Faith
Original Marriage Encounter provides a unique opportunity for couples to renew their marriage through honest, open communication. Participants are invited to listen to talks by team couples, who share how they have faced different situations in their married life. Presentations are followed by periods of quiet reflection and couple sharing about handout questions. The two-day programme also includes Holy Mass and prayers led by a Catholic priest. Started and conducted within the Catholic Church, the programme is open to everyone who wants to sincerely encounter self, others and God.
Marriage Encounter, created by Fr Gabriel Calvo, has spread in numerous variations in many countries of the world. The most widely known version of the programme is Worldwide Marriage Encounter, associated with the name of Chuck Gallagher SJ.
In some countries, however, the Original Marriage Encounter is also available. In El Salvador, Hungary, Japan, Slovakia, Venezuela, etc. many years’ experience has shown that the Original Marriage Encounter, along with other programmes by Fr Gabriel Calvo, is an extremely effective means not only of strengthening marriages but also of evangelization among Christians and non-Christians as well.
“God created man and woman to give meaning, life and love to the universe. He created marriage “to His image and likeness”, and God is not a circle. He is the spiraling foundation of Life and Love. The quest for happiness in marriage demands that you expand your vision and perspective beyond your marital relationships. You are challenged by today’s society to stop being a selfish and isolated married couple. And you are called by the Creator to depart from your conjugal and family love, and go towards the universal love. You, as a married couple, have been born to become a loving spiral of love!”
