Marriage-enrichment opportunities
Taking care of your marriage from the very beginning should be a priority. However, the seasons and cycles of marriage bring change. Those early days of dating, with long talks and feelings of being so close that nothing could ever be more important than each other, make way for family life and children, maintaining a home, jobs, career changes, and all the many challenges that occur in daily life.
Today’s couples express a desire for a deep friendship and good communication with their spouse. They want to feel connected at the deepest level of their covenant bond. Sometimes they wake up one morning and say, “What happened?” This can happen early in marriage, during the middle years of raising a family, when they are experiencing the “empty nest” transition after the children leave home, or in their senior years. Couples want to appreciate all that they have in their lives and to recapture the deep friendship, great love, and oneness that are the desire of every married person’s heart.
Marriage-enrichment opportunities offer couples a chance to deepen their spirituality, improve their communication, work on financial issues, break old patterns of hurt, and learn to forgive. Check out our upcoming events to register for marriage-enrichment opportunities.
Bishop Richard F. Stika’s message to married couples http://youtu.be/apRMIRapEA0Marriage
Masses in Celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage
In 2012 Bishop Stika will celebrate three bilingual Masses to honor married couples and their commitment to the Sacrament of Marriage. The Masses are scheduled for:
- Saturday, January 7 at The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville at 11:00 am
- Saturday, February 11 at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga at 11:00 am
- Saturday, March 3 at St. Mary Church in Johnson City at 11:00 am
Couples will have the opportunity to renew their vows during Mass and continue to celebrate with family and friends at a luncheon following Mass. Included with the luncheon provided by the Diocesan Office of Marriage Preparation & Enrichment are mementos of the celebration; a certificate and a photo with the Bishop for each couple who registers in advance.
To make reservations, contact Karen Byrne at 865-584-3307 ext. 5739
in the Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment
Please provide your names as you want them to appear on the certificate, the number of years you have been married and the number of guests you plan to bring to the luncheon.
To view slide show of Mass & Celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage, St. Dominic Church click below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-35Jy9_CHoM
Marriage Encounter
Turn a good marriage into a great one with a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. The emphasis of the weekend is communication between husbands and wives. The weekend provides an environment for couples to spend time together, away from the distractions and tensions of everyday life, while encouraging them to focus on each other and their relationship.
It’s not a retreat, a marriage clinic, a group sensitivity session, or a substitute for counseling. It’s a unique approach aimed at revitalizing marriage. Every marriage deserves that kind of attention.
2012 Dates
- February 10, 11, 12 – Edgewater Hotel in Gatlinburg
To register visit our website at: www.loveinthesmokies.org or
contact: John & Anne Wharton at ACW193@bellsouth.net or 423-581-1815.
