Pathways for Parish Leaders

Marriage Preparation

Marriage preparation offers parishes the opportunity to share with couples the Church’s beautiful teaching on the Sacrament of Matrimony. More than a wedding or a ritual, matrimony is the call to love one’s spouse in the same way that Christ loved his Church—with self-sacrifice, the full embrace of the other, and the openness to sharing that love with children, who are gifts from God. 

The Augustine Institute provides your parish with resources for marriage preparation and for renewing the Sacrament of Matrimony with your married parishioners. 

“This (Beloved) lifted our relationship to a whole new level.

~ Alexander, CO ~

 

Recommendations for Pre-Cana Classes (and Marriage Enrichment)

Beloved
In 12 stunning sessions, Beloved uncovers the mystery and the meaning of the Sacrament of Marriage. Beloved invites all couples to experience firsthand the wonder, mystery, and joy behind that first “I do”—whether you said it last year or many years ago.

View the trailer.

Purchase full-color guides at 60% off on Catholic Market. 

Symbolon – Living the Faith: Episode 5
Matrimony and Holy Orders

In this beautiful session of Symbolon: The Catholic Faith Explained, marriage is described as more than merely a contract between two people in love; marriage was created by God as part of his plan for humanity. How we fit within that plan may depend on our view of the Sacrament of Matrimony and its profound meaning for the world.

Purchase full-color guides for Symbolon at 60% off on Catholic Market.

Symbolon – Knowing the Faith
Symbolon – Living the Faith

Marriage: Unique for a Reason from the USCCB
What is marriage? Is it discriminatory to defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman? What impact does the redefinition of marriage have on religious liberty? These are just a few of the many questions about marriage today.   

Marriage: God’s Design for Life and Love This film also addresses the challenges in marriage and family life that we face in our world today. With presentations by Cardinal Raymond Burke, Bishop Mark Davies, Fr. Marcus Holden, Fr. Andrew Pinsent, Louise Kirk, Fiona Mansford, and Edmund Adamus, this documentary is an essential resource for every Catholic parish, school, and home. 

Recommendation for Catechists

Witness to Life and Love: Preparation for Holy Matrimony

Throughout the month of February 2022, the Augustine Institute brought many experts of Sacramental Preparation from around the country to Denver to be interviewed by Professor Lucas Pollice about sacramental preparation in parishes and dioceses. 

In this episode Professor Lucas Pollice sits down with Derek Rotty, Director of Evangelization and Discipleship for St. Mary Catholic Church in Jackson, TN, to talk about preparation for the sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

Additional Recommendations on FORMED:

Marriage 

Chastity/Family Planning 

Parenting 

Daily Gospel Reflections

  • Encourage all couples and marriage preparation catechists to subscribe to the FORMED Daily Reflections and start their day together with a short and inspiring reflection on the gospel reading.  To sign up, go to formed.org/daily and enter your name and email address.

Beloved Best Practices  

Marriage Enrichment: Invite couples to meet regularly to watch/discuss Beloved and other videos on FORMED. Beloved can also be used as a retreat for couples in your parish or diocese. 

Marriage Preparation: Use any of these formats below with Beloved as your video and discussion component: 

  • One-Session Parent Meeting: Use all three sessions of Beloved in a two-hour meeting that includes group discussion between sessions.  
  • Two-Session Parent Meeting: Study Session 1 and Session 2 of Beloved in a 90-minute meeting, followed by Session 3 and the Bonus Session for couples in a second 90-minute meeting.  
  • Three-Session Parent Meeting: Devote a 60-minute meeting to each of Beloved’s three sessions.  
  • Reverse Classroom: If you plan to have couples watch Beloved at home before the first class, have a married couple in the parish call and congratulate the engaged couple and then explain how to subscribe to FORMED. 
  • Large-Group/Parish-Wide Study: Offer Beloved as a large-group session and open it up to the entire parish. Use the promotional materials for Beloved found at leaders.formed.org. under Resources. Break into small-group discussions after the videos to discuss.  
  • Participant Guides: Order full-color guides for each participant at Catholic.Market at 60% off for FORMED parishes.

Webinars for Marriage Preparation Leaders

Featured Story:

Beloved Case Study:

“The witness of the couples themselves, and their positive feedback, is very confirming of the whole process.”

 

Download PDF

Testimonials:

The Beloved video program is having a real impact on the way couples prepare for marriage. Through their parish FORMED account, each of the couples is given access to two 30-minute episodes of Beloved to watch between every marriage-prep session. The couples watch and follow the accompanying discussion questions afterward, and the priest reviews with further questions in the next session. This adds about six hours of vital exposure to solid Catholic teaching for the many couples in the parish (up to 80 couples every year!).

Father Sean Ralph, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Ohio

Men, watch this prior to marriage!

Craig, FL 

Truly amazing video! My husband is from a different religion, which I thought would make this complicated. We watched this together, and he is open to watching more to help rebuild our marriage.

Crystal, NS

These get better as you watch each one! So inspiring and encouraging! Session Three gives very practical explanations of how to live out your day-to-day vows. Such great explanations and relatable personal testimonies.

Janet, LA

So much wonderful information. I’m super glad we were able to watch this together and hear others’ stories!

Samantha, ON

View more Beloved Testimonials

What’s Your Story?

Tell us your experience with using FORMED resources for RCIA