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Marriage Preparation
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St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians,
chapter 5, verses 23-33, taken in its
entirety and properly interpreted, contains
a beautiful explanation of marriage, a “great
mystery.” God sees how a husband and wife
give their lives for each other just as
Christ gave his life for us. Knowing the
depth of love between husband and wife, God
deems it a sign of Christ’s love for his
bride, the Church.
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Only the bride and groom can consent to
give their lives to each other faithfully
and forever. The bride and groom speak the
marriage vows and confer the Sacrament of
Marriage on one another. A decision to enter
marriage is sacred, permanent, and
indissoluble and requires careful
preparation.
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If you are seriously thinking about
marriage or are engaged, know that
Christ and the Church are with you,
yet you alone are responsible for
understanding what marriage vows
entail and assessing whether you
will be able to live them. We
rejoice that you want a Christian
marriage and come to your parish and
diocese for assistance. We want to
help you prepare not only for your
wedding day but for a lifetime of
love together.
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Even if you are
not yet engaged but are seriously
contemplating marriage, it is not too soon
to talk with a priest about the important
step you are considering.
As soon as you start planning marriage, make
an appointment to visit with your parish
priest.
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A year before your anticipated wedding will
give you adequate time; nine months is the
minimum time to allow. Be sure to schedule
an appointment before making any wedding
arrangements. |
Your questions about Catholic marriage
preparation may be answered at
http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/marriagefaqs.shtml
During preparation for
marriage in the Diocese of Scranton you can
expect to:
1.
Meet with a parish priest or his
delegate (a deacon or pastoral staff member)
to learn about guidelines and procedures,
begin the prenuptial inquiry that gathers
information needed for Church records, and
tentatively set a church wedding date.
2.
Fill out a premarital assessment
instrument. This inventory will help you
explore your relationship, think about what
each of you is bringing to marriage, and
become more aware of your strengths and
challenges. The assessment instrument
enables marriage preparation to fit your
needs.
3.
Attend the enrichment program the
priest specifies. It may include a Pre-Cana
Conference, sessions with a mentor couple,
and/or a Catholic Engaged Encounter Weekend.
4.
Obtain Natural Family Planning (NFP) instruction.
5.
Meet again with the priest or deacon
to follow up on the enrichment program and
sign Church forms.
6.
Plan your wedding liturgy with the
assistance of a priest, deacon, or
liturgist.
7.
Use the final months before your
wedding for intense spiritual preparation
through prayer and the sacraments.
Pre-marriage enrichment programs and processes
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Check with the priest, deacon, or
pastoral staff person assisting you with
marriage preparation before registering for
an enrichment program to be sure it is right
for you.
You are advised to register early and to choose a session scheduled
at
least six to nine
months before your anticipated
wedding date.
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Catholic Engaged Encounter
Weekend
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Engaged Encounter is an intense weekend offering you the
time and opportunity to examine and deepen
your relationship with each other and with
God. Through writing and sharing exercises,
each couple explores many aspects of their
relationship. You will consider
self-awareness, unity, careers, children,
the sacrament, family of origin, decisions,
and more. In addition to many private
sharing sessions, you will be given time to
interact with others. You can read what
couples have said about Engaged Encounter,
check schedules in other dioceses, and view
a video at http://www.engagedencounter.com
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Engaged
Encounter is excellent marriage
preparation that satisfies diocesan
requirements for the formation
phase. When it comes to marriage
preparation, it is true that you get
what you pay for, in both time and
money. Engaged Encounter is for
couples who are preparing for
lifelong marriage, not just a
wedding day, and it receives rave
reviews from engaged couples.
Held at
Fatima Renewal Center
in Dalton, an Engaged Encounter
weekend enables you and your beloved
to focus on your upcoming marriage
in the quiet and beauty of the
countryside about ten miles
northwest of Scranton. The $225
registration fee includes meals and
lodging for you and your fiancé. You
may pay in full when you resister,
or send a $75 deposit to secure your registration and pay the balance at least one week prior to the Engaged Encounter weekend.
For
more information about Engaged Encounter, call:
Office for Parish Life (207-2213)
Engaged
Encounter Registration Form
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Diocesan
Pre-Cana Conferences
This
conference can help you continue your
discernment about God’s call to marriage,
consider what marriage requires, take a new
look at your relationship, see the Catholic
vision for marriage, grow in faith, and
learn some skills known to enhance success
and happiness in marriage.
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The seven and one-half hour program is
based on a theology of the body
taught by Pope John Paul II and
includes:
Couple Prayer
FOCCUS administration
Speaker-Listener Instruction and
Practice
God’s Plan for Marriage “In the
Beginning”
Christ Restores God’s Plan for
Marriage
What Are You Saying “I Do” To?
The Joy of Sexual Honesty Before
Marriage
The Joy of Sexual Honesty Within
Marriage
The Practical Benefits of Natural
Family Planning
Opportunity to talk one-on-one with
team couples |
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In addition, couples attending the
Pre-Cana program will receive
lunch, program workbooks, and
Christopher West’s Good News
About Sex and Marriage. |
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Diocesan
Pre-Cana Conference Schedule
Seminars and conferences are
scheduled by deanery. Directions to
the site will be
provided in a confirmation letter.
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*Sunday, March 14,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Scranton
(City) 
(You may wish to
attend 6:30 a.m. or 5 p.m. Mass at
St. Peter's Cathedral)
(FILLED)
*Saturday, March 20,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00
p.m., Lycoming/Tioga
(Williamsport)
(FILLED)
*Saturday, March 27,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., South Luzerne
(Drums)
(FILLED)
Saturday,
April 10, 2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Dunmore
(Elmhurst)
*Saturday, April 17,
2010
, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.,
Monroe (Tannersville)
*Saturday, April 24,
2010
, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.,
Wayne/Pike (Milford)
*Saturday, May 1,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Wilkes-Barre
(Wilkes-Barre)
(FILLED)
*Saturday, May 8,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Mid-Valley
Lackawanna (Peckville)
*Saturday, May 15,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Northern
Luzerne (Pittston)
Sunday, June 6, 2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Scranton
(Dalton)
(You may wish to attend 7:00
am Mass at Our Lady of Snows
Church in Clarks Summit)
*Saturday, July 10, 2010, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Scranton (City) 
(You may wish to attend 6:30
a.m. or 5 p.m. Mass at St. Peter's
Cathedral)
 *Saturday,
June 12, 2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., South Luzerne
(Drums)
*Saturday, July 17,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00
p.m., Lycoming/Tioga (Williamsport)
Saturday, July 24,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Dunmore
(Elmhurst)
*Saturday, August 7,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Wilkes-Barre
(Wilkes-Barre)
*Saturday, August 14,
2010
, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.,
Monroe (Tannersville)
*Saturday, August 21,
2010
, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.,
Wayne/Pike (Milford)
Sunday, September
12, 2010, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.,
Scranton (Dalton) (You may
wish to attend 7:00
a.m. Mass at Our Lady of
Snows Church in Clarks Clarks
Summit)
*Saturday,
September 18, 2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Northern
Luzerne (Pittston)
*Saturday, October 2,
2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00
p.m., Lycoming/Tioga (Williamsport)
*Saturday,
October 9, 2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Mid-Valley
Lackawanna (Peckville)
Saturday,
November 6, 2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Dunmore
(Elmhurst)
*Saturday,
November 13, 2010,
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., South Luzerne
(Drums)
*FOCCUS
Instrument will be administered |
REGISTER ONLINE FOR DIOCESAN PRE-CANA
CONFERENCE
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Parish
Pre-Cana Conferences
Some
parishes conduct marriage preparation
programs of their own design. If the priest
with whom you are working approves, you may
attend one of the following parish-sponsored
programs that accept couples who are not
parishioners. To obtain further information
about what the session includes and to
register, please call the phone number given
with the site in which you are interested. |
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The
following parish-sponsored programs
will accept couples who are not
parishioners.
For further information and
registration call the number given.
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pastor may refer you to a mentor
couple. When you call the couple
they will invite you to their home
for a series of meetings. The mentor
couple may be a trained Marriage
Sponsor Couple who helps you discuss
issues arising from the premarital
assessment instrument you filled out
in the priest’s office or at Pre
Cana or at the MSC’s home. Or the
mentor couple may be oriented by the
parish to facilitate sessions using
a workbook or other format. The
mentor couple will also invite you
to return as a newly married couple
to talk about how your first year is
going.
Pastors’
Note
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Spanish
Language Marriage Preparation
Para la preparación de la unión en español,
hable por favor con su sacerdote de la
parroquia.
East Stroudsburg:
Parroquia
de Santo Matthew, 570-421-2342
Hazleton: Parroquia de Santo Gabriel,
570-454-0212
Scranton:
Parroquia de Natividad de Nuestro Señor,
570-344-6159
Tobyhanna: Parroquia de Santo Ana,
570-894-8018
Wilkes-Barre: Parroquia de Santa
Rosario, 570-822-1183
Pastoral Resources
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Online
Marriage Preparation Course
If it is impossible for you to attend an Engaged Encounter weekend or a
Pre Cana conference, your pastor may permit
you to take a course of preparation via the
Internet. Talk with him about
Catholic Marriage
Preparation, Inc.
Catholic Marriage Preparation
is an online program based on Pope John Paul
II’s theology of the body and the
Catechism of the Catholic Church. The
program provides print and CD study
materials and requires the completion of
five worksheets, which are submitted
electronically. The program covers these and
other topics:
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God’s plan for humanity
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Vocation of man and woman
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Sin and its consequences
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The Sacrament of Matrimony
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Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
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Humanae Vitae and conscience
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The Rite of Marriage
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Freedom, self-gift, faithfulness, and openness to life
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Forgiveness
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Your body is a temple
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Relationship tools
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Potential problems in marriage
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Praying together
This course costs $150 including materials and personalized responses
to each workshop. You may register by phone
(866-425-7193) or at the
Catholic Marriage
Preparation, Inc website. You must have permission of the priest assisting
your marriage preparation to take this
online course instead of attending Engaged
Encounter or Pre Cana.
Additional
programs
Obtain Natural Family
Planning instruction well
before your wedding. Six months of
charting will give you confidence to
use NFP, should you need to, at the
beginning of your marriage.
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