Catholic Marriage Preparation Course - Content

As promised, here's the course content for the Catholic Marriage Preparation course. Comment in red is my additional wording, the rest are taken from the working sheet.

1. Encounter with ‘Me’
I know myself by honestly acknowledging and accepting the unique qualities, both positive and negative, that I bring into our marriage. This self-acceptance and love of myself is necessary in order to truly love others and to recoqnize the deep love that God has for me

2. Encounter with ‘We’
Married life involves a continuous cycle if ups and downs referred to as romance, disillusionment and true joy. In this recurring cycle, love is not dependent upon feelings but upon a decision to love which moves us beyond disillusionment and leads to true joy.

3. Openness in Communication
Openness in communication is a process of talking and listening that involves element of risk, trust and acceptance. In marriage we are challenged to take a risk, to share openly with our spouse and to trust our spouse’s acceptance of our thoughts, ideas and feelings. To experience the deepest sense of love, we need to become vulnerable and trusting.

4. Signs of A ‘Closed’ Relationship
Sharing individual expectation and attitudes about marriage is vital to a growing relationship. When we choose to ignore our differences or begin to think we can change our spouse, we start to close ourselves off from one another. The willingness to communicate and explore our expectations as a couple allows us the freedom to be ourselves, to grow and to change. Marriage is more than just living together. It is a lifelong commitment to become totally involved with one another.

5. Marriage Vocation – Called to Be One
Marriage is a vocation, a sacred call from God to love each other uniquely, totally and unconditionally. Striving for unity, not happiness is the primary goal of Christian Marriage

6. Marriage Morality
Moral : To be life giving .. to call ourselves and others to a fuller life .. to be open and honest and bear witness to the value Jesus taught
Immoral : To be selfish, indifferent, unwilling to be responsible for the effect of my life on others

7. Decision in Marriage
-Prayer
-Discernment a) gather facts
b) consult others for advice
c) mutual discussion
-Mutual agreement
-Mutual Responsibility
-Re-evaluation

8. Sexuality in Marriage
Human sexuality – for all of us – is the way of being in, and relating to, the world as male and female. Sexuality involves one’s view of self .. thoughts, feelings, actions which are unique to each of us male and female. Sexuality is one of God’s gifts that calls human into communication and communion with each other. This is the profound experience (mystery) of a full sexual union between husband and wife.

9. Becoming A Family of Love and Life
It is important to realize that our family begins on the day we become married. Being open to each other’s past family values and traditions is an important aspect to forming our family. Likewise it is important to recoqnize that God has a life-giving plan for our family. Forming a family involves the blending of two people’s past to form one family’s future.

10. Wedding – The Beginning of Our Sacrament
In a Catholic faith, marriage is a sacrament. A sacrament is God’s presence and love for us is revealed in a visible action or relationship. When we see a married couple’s love, we believe that God is present there. The couples become ministers of the sacrament to each other and mirror God’s love through daily acts of loving, serving and forgiving.

11. Family Planning
12. Forgiveness in Marriage
13. Betrothal

14. Plan of Life
An exercise where each person evaluate priorities in life based on the questionnaires, and later on discussed on a combined worksheet to reach a mutual priorities.