July 2022
A spotlight on a Marriage in Christ parish!
All Saints Catholic Church, Lakeville, Minnesota
Pictured above are the participants of the Marriage in Christ seminar held April -May 2022 from All Saints Catholic Church.

For years, the vocation crisis in the Catholic church was centered around priests and religious. Today, the crisis is even more widespread, as marriage becomes the vocational crisis. Sadly, more people are deciding not to get married; hence, we need strong, beautiful marriages to inspire our culture and world.

I was so grateful we were able to sponsor an in-person Marriage in Christ seminar at our parish, All Saints in Lakeville, Minnesota. This was my first year working with the program, and I was excited to see it work. The heart of the program is the fourth session, when couples invite the Holy Spirit anew into their relationship and marriage.

Essentially, we all get into patterns and ways of being that require some grace to restore or break out of. I was inspired by this approach and deep truth. I spoke with my wife, and although we were not able to participate in a Marriage in Christ seminar at this time (planning on this fall!), we recognized that our family had also fallen into some patterns and habits we needed God’s grace in. We prayed a novena, a prayer pattern where you pray consecutively for nine days, asking the Holy Spirit to intervene in our lives and on Pentecost Sunday, following the “model” of Marriage in Christ seminars, we invited the Holy Spirit anew into our family.

God desires to do something new, and I appreciate Marriage in Christ seminars creating opportunities for our parish and families to be strengthened!
Chris Kuhn, Director of Adult Faith Formation

All Saints Catholic Church has been sponsoring Marriage in Christ seminars since 2018. They even sponsored a seminar during the pandemic, utilizing the Marriage in Christ At Home seminar. Over 60 couples have experienced the seminar during the last four years.
Host Couple
Lorin & Katie Mislan & family
Lorin & Katie Mislan first heard of the Marriage in Christ seminar in 2018 through their church bulletin.

They attended the first seminar in 2018, were discussion leaders in 2019, and now were the host couple in 2022.

The seminar has helped them to trust and lean on the Holy Spirit, and to live with intentionality by forming good habits. “During times of turmoil, we are able to move forward and forgive each other easier,” says Lorin.

The focus of Marriage in Christ seminars is pure and simple.
Focus your life in Christ, build healthy habits, and recognize the need for the Holy Spirit. These ideas are critical to living a sacramental marriage.

We promote the Marriage in Christ seminar because a healthy marriage is a building block of a healthy society. As Christians and active citizens, this is part of our tithe.

Feedback from this seminar was overwhelmingly positive and we are planning a session for the upcoming fall.

“The Marriage in Christ seminar is a good experience and great program, very relevant to the days we are living in now!”
Lorin & Katie Mislan, Host Couple
Would you like to host an in-person Marriage in Christ seminar at your place of worship in the future?

Contact Fran on how you can host an in-person seminar in your neighborhood, your place of worship, or any group setting.
The Wedding Feast at Cana

 
God acts in human history, and those actions reveal, a little at a time, who God is. This month we focus on the fact that God, in the Second Person of the Trinity, chose a family wedding to be the setting in which he would go public with his ministry. Jesus' sign of turning water into wine began to reveal his glory and the extravagance of his love, which would be fully revealed on the cross. Further, the story is filled with multiple images, rich layers of symbols and allusions to the story of Israel’s relationship with the Lord and to her hopes.
 
Right at the start, John signals that this is more than a story about a simple wedding in a small out-of-the-way village in Galilee. The phrase “on the third day” anchors this story in Israel’s story. “The third day” calls to mind the three-day covenant-making ceremony recounted in Exodus 19– in which God gives the Commandments to his chosen people.
 
Jesus counters his mother’s simple request to help with an embarrassing problem, “They have no wine,” with a cryptic comment: “Woman, what is it to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.” Mary, who sang during her pregnancy of the promises God had made to her ancestors (Luke 1:55), would have longed for the divine Bridegroom to fulfill those ancient promises made by the prophets. So, it would not be surprising if Mary knew full well that what she was asking Jesus to do was more than to solve a simple domestic problem.
 


Conversation Starters and Loving Actions for you!

Have you asked Jesus to repeat the miracle of Cana for you?

How do you keep the joy of your marriage alive?

What type of wine would describe your marriage? Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Riesling, Champagne...

Do you see Jesus' love for you as extravagant?

What does "loving with extravagance" mean to you?

What symbols in your relationship reveal your story of extravagant love?

Do you give yourself fully to your spouse?

Is it in the act of loving that we become one with Jesus?

Create a date of "Art in the Park". Pack tools for painting or drawing. Go to a park and each of you create an art piece.

Have a photo scavenger hunt with your spouse. Chose a topic to photograph like birds, flowers, or insects.

Have a wine flight blind tasting date. Pour 3 or 4 different wines in glasses, hide the original bottles, and see if your spouse can guess the various wines or even the subtle notes of flavors in each kind. If you do not enjoy wine, try sparkling flavored waters or sodas.

Read a novel together.

Ask your spouse to do something that they like to do but you may not always participate in together.

Attend an outdoor concert together. Pack a picnic snack.

On a balmy day, turn your water sprinkler on and run through the sprinkler with your clothes on.

Go for a walk in the rain.
Do you speak Spanish? Would you be willing to help us host
Seminario Matrimonio en Cristo in your area? Please contact Fran.
Follow Marriage in Christ
Come, Holy Spirit, inspire our hearts; inspire couples to desire your presence in their life, marriage, & family. Draw them to you. May we be a vehicle to reveal you to them.