TEQUESTA | Seasons change, but the wisdom of the church never does: “Keep God at the center of your marriage.”
That was the message given to engaged couples by Deacon Louis Romero, diocesan marriage ministry coordinator during a May 10 marriage preparation program at St. Jude Parish in Tequesta. According to the Diocese of Palm Beach’s website pages on marriage and families, the program provides couples contemplating marriage “the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of marriage and on the influence that spirituality, communication, finances, sexuality and parenthood will have on their marriage.” It also includes St. John Paul II’s theology of the body teachings and “helps couples fully embrace God’s glorious plan for their marriage.”
Deacon Romero with his wife, Leona, lead the marriage prep program titled “God’s Plan for Marriage.”
“We go over the importance of the sacrament in their marriage and the importance of God being present in their marriage,” he told the Florida Catholic. “We have 12 of these (Saturday marriage prep retreats in English) a year at different locations.” Upcoming sessions are planned for June 7 at St. Joan of Arc, Boca Raton; Aug. 2, Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola, Palm Beach Gardens; Sept. 6, St. Helen, Vero Beach; Sept. 20, St. Luke, Palm Springs; Oct. 4, St. Lucie, Port St. Lucie; and Nov. 8, St. Joan of Arc, Boca Raton.
Couples attending the May retreat came from parishes within the diocese and even some from the Diocese of Orlando. “This is for any Catholic church, any diocese,” and is a diocesan requirement,” Deacon Romero said.
Welcoming everyone, he said, “It’s so great with so many getting married in the Catholic Church.” The first question asked of the engaged couples was “What is the meaning of marriage?”
Participants answered “a union,” “a covenant with God,” “family,” “devotion,” “compromise,” “hard work,” “commitment” and “love.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1660) states: “Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament.”
Marriage in the church “is a sacrament, and a sacrament is where we touch God here on earth,” Deacon Romero said. “It is not a contract” that can be breached. Instead, it is “a covenant between you and God for as long as you live.”
“If you put Jesus at the center of your marriage, truly as part of your marriage, you can weather any storms,” he said.
Three questions are asked of couples in order to be married in the Catholic Church, the deacon said: “Have you come here to enter freely and wholeheartedly? Are you prepared to love each other for as long as you both shall live? Are you prepared to accept children lovingly from God and bring them up in the Catholic Church?”
The marriage prep retreats also include discussions on defining marriage by communication, responsible parenting, finances, spirituality and threats to marriages. Each retreat day ends with an evaluation, a certificate and final blessing.
Some attendees at the Tequesta retreat entered into full communion with the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil Masses April 19. Jacob Boyd and Abigail Capezza, graduates of John Carroll High School in Fort Pierce and parishioners of St. Lucie Parish in Port St. Lucie, are getting married Dec. 27 this year.
“It’s not really a marriage without God at the center,” Capezza said. “He (Jake) actually just received the sacraments of confirmation and first Communion on Easter.”
Elvis Tafoya and Shannon Gallup of St. Thomas More in Boynton Beach are getting married in California. “We are getting married in the Catholic Church because we are new Catholic converts and we both went through RCIA last year,” Tafoya said.
Lukas Strankowski and Akilah St. Aubin of St. Ambrose in Deerfield Beach are getting married in Poland on June 28. “I was born and raised Catholic in Warsaw, Poland,” Strankowski said. “It is a huge part of our family tradition and heritage.”
Members of St. Juliana Parish in West Palm Beach, Patrick Shanahan and Christine Dewey are set to wed July 20. “I am Catholic and brought him into the Catholic Church, and we want to bring our family up in the church.”
“Being married in the Catholic Church and our faith at the center of our relationship is very important,” said Timothy Bates of Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Palm Beach Gardens, who is set to marry Amber Morra this Fourth of July in Rhode Island.
For more information about preparation for marriage in the Diocese of Palm Beach, visit www.diocesepb.org/marriageprep, call 561-775-9557 or email marriageprep@diocesepb.org.
