The following steps are provided as guidelines for pastors and couples seeking the sacrament of marriage to be able to know what to expect and to be able to plan ahead for any situations that may arise.
To be completed at least 6 months prior to wedding.
Couples are to contact their parish as soon as possible after the formal engagement is made and no less than 6 months prior to the intended date of the wedding. A Pastor may require additional time if he sees fit. Extra time must be allowed if there are extenuating circumstances such as a prior bond that needs to be investigated. The Pastor may delegate the initial contact to his marriage prep coordinators. At the initial contact meeting, the following tasks should be completed:
To be completed at least 6 months prior to wedding.
At the initial contact, pastors or marriage prep coordinators may collect login information for the couple to complete an online inventory. The purpose of the inventory is to evaluate the couple’s understanding of Christian marriage and their preparedness for this vocation. It also helps to identify areas of compatibility and of specific challenges that might need to be addressed. In our diocese, every parish should have access to an account with either Fully Engaged or FOCCUS. Once the inventory is submitted, the results are available immediately if taken online. It is advised that couples wait until after their marriage preparation workshop to review their results with their pastor or designated parish marriage prep coordinator.
The Diocesan Marriage Formation Retreats, featuring “Unveiled,” is designed to inform couples of the spiritual and practical aspects of Catholic marriage and facilitate couple dialogue on issues including:
The Diocesan Marriage Formation Retreats, featuring “Unveiled,” has several topics couples will discuss with each other. Some discussions are in large groups; however, most are one on one conversations for each couple.
Marriage Formation is a process of growing in wisdom and understanding about how God calls each married couple to sanctify, or make holy, one another and to evangelize through their unique vocation.
Marriage Formation is lifelong. Many of us do not realize that we have already been forming habits that will either help us or impede us in our future marriages long before we even begin dating. Because of this lack of awareness, leaders in marriage ministry have recommended that we encourage and reinforce good habits of prayer, communication, chastity, generosity, and self-sacrifice especially during the time of engagement, leading up to the wedding.
In our diocese, we are pleased to offer marriage formation.
Two-Day Overnight Retreat
8:00am Saturday - 200pm Sunday
Overnight retreats are recommended for marriage preparation.
The retreat includes all of the program elements together with an overnight stay, an opportunity for reconciliation, Sunday Mass and extra one-on-one time for the couple.
All meals are provided. A list of what to bring will be given upon registration. Presentations are indoors. Outdoor space is available for couple discussion time.
Retreats are held at Pax Christi Retreat Center.
Twogether in Texas Discounted Marriage License Fee
The Diocesan Marriage Formation Retreat and Two-Part Seminar qualify for the Twogether in Texas program to promote healthy marriages. Through the Twogether in Texas program, couples who complete certain premarital classes and workshops do not have to pay the $60 state fee for their marriage license. County fees still apply. Upon completion of the Diocesan Marriage Formation Retreat couples will receive a certificate to take to their county clerk when they apply for their marriage license. The certificate is good for one year and serves as proof that the couple is eligible for the discounted marriage license fee.
The fee is $250 per couple. We will limit the number of couples to 20 couples per retreat.
Upcoming Retreat Dates:
January 25 - 26, 2025 | Registration Deadline: January 17, 2025 |
May 3 - 4, 2025 | Registration Deadline: April 25, 2025 |
September 27 - 28, 2025 | Registration Deadline: September 19, 2025 |
October 25 - 26, 2025 | Registration Deadline: October 17, 2025 |
Location: Pax Christi Liturgical Retreat Center (4601 Calallen Dr, Corpus Christi, TX)
Cost: $250 per couple (payment is made online through the registration form)
Pre-registration is required, no walk-ins. Space is limited.
The fee is non-refundable; however, it can be transferred to another retreat date.
Follow-up meetings at the parish level should be scheduled following the Marriage Preparation formation. The intention of these meetings is to provide an opportunity for either a mentor couple or the pastor himself to ask more in-depth questions that might have arisen either during the course of the marriage prep inventory or throughout their time spent in marriage prep formation. Ultimately, these meetings provide the pastor or mentor couples the information they need to better serve the couple about to be married so that they will have all the tools necessary to start their lives together as a couple and as a new family within the parish. When couples are welcomed into the parish family in this process of marriage prep formation, the couples are reassured about their roles as members of a greater community in which they can draw from other married couples’ experience and wisdom and in which they realize how they can in turn serve others as Christ intends all of us to do.
Parishes may opt to pair engaged couples with married couples in the parish who have a firm grasp of the meaning of Christian marriage and how it plays out in daily life. These relationships have proven to be mutually beneficial, enriching both the couple preparing for marriage and renewing the couple who has already been married for a number of years.
Fully Engaged has a follow-up workbook designed for married mentor couples to work with engaged couple to guide them through their specifically tailored inventory of discussion topics that is provided as a result of their online assessment.
Witness to Love is a marriage preparation renewal ministry promoted by the USCCB in which the engaged couple seeks out their own parish mentor couple to build a real friendship while going through the process of marriage preparation.