Marriage Prep

Some refer to it as "pre-cana" others refer to it as "marriage preparation class" the intent of the program is "is aimed at assisting engaged couples to fully understand the Church's beautiful vision of marriage and to equip them with the information and tools necessary to deal with the day to day joys and struggles of married life." We recently completed our Marriage Preparation class at St. Mary's in Pompton Lakes.

The day was filled with different couples and topics all featured around discussing difficult issues with your spouse. Aside from introductions and some nice readings they opened the day with a fun version of the "newlywed game" with 4 featured couples, I have to say the host was actually quite funny and entertaining. After that we broke up into small groups. I was amazed when we walked in just to see how many couples were actually in attendance.

Our small group was made up of about 6 other couples. We spent the majority of our day with this small group. The topics centered around introducing important life topics into your life with your spouse. There were discussions on family life, barriers to commitment/conflict resolution, finance and spirituality. It was actually a really fun day interacting with other couples in a similar to position to what Mike and I are going through. Be it planning a wedding, or questions around living together and dealing with conflict. I was also surprised by the fact that it was ok to discuss living with your partner in an open manner. I had been expecting a priest or not be able to discuss that topic.

The last task of the day given to us was to write each a love letter and discuss our hopes and dreams for our future together. The church will mail us the letters the week before the wedding. I thought that was such a perfect way to end the day - I know I can't wait to read my letter from Mike before our wedding!