Couples reflect on ‘The Joy of Marriage’

Couples for Christ (CFC) Trinidad & Tobago hosted its Marriage Retreat November 16 and 17 at the St Benet’s Hall, Mt St Benedict entitled ‘The Joy of Marriage’.

Thirty-two couples and one husband attended, coming from various parts of the country, some as far as Siparia and Sangre Grande. There were couples married as short as seven months, to as long as 50 years coming together to share with one another to learn and to grow and make this experience a rewarding one for all.

It was a great effort to attend with the responsibilities that we have as young parents (other couples had the same challenge) but we were so glad that we did. A welcomed addition was that the children had a ministry for the days, too!

The facilitator was Fr Matthew Ragbir, who guided us in understanding the elements of marriage that would help us to live our best lives together.

Day 1 started with prayer and breakfast, and then the activities of the day began. A six-lesson plan was used to help us to share with our spouses how the different elements of life affect us in marriage.

Each segment had a Check In #1 and #2 where there were exercises that were practical to help us understand a little deeper how the lesson related to us and our relationship.

The highlight was that we had received a heart which we had to decorate to represent the wounds in the relationship. Later there was a healing session where we had to lay the decorated hearts before the altar in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, which symbolised leaving the wounds behind during the healing.

Day 2 began with Holy Mass, then breakfast, and continued with the six-lesson plan where there were more exercises to help us to delve deeper.

Most of the couples enjoyed the session on the love languages according to Ascension Press (The Catholic view), which was so practical. It really helped to clarify how we can express our love according to the love language of the other. We clearly saw which love language pertained to us, and which could assist us in better expressing ourselves.

We gave the vote of thanks at the end of the session.

We really appreciated this marriage retreat. It was a blessed experience, one that we know we needed and will always remember.

We look forward to inviting other couples to experience such a wonderful event to help enrich their marriages to renew the face of the earth. —Wesley & Marina Alexander, CFC Unit Leaders, Mon Repos