The following programs and events are designed to help strengthen marriages by fostering an authentic Catholic understanding of marriage, human sexuality, and family life.
Marriage
St. Raphael Counseling | Couples Counseling
Couples counseling is a valuable opportunity for couples who want to build a healthy and long-lasting relationship. It can be a worthwhile investment for the long-term, providing couples with the skills and strategies they need to manage life together in a healthy way.
Couples counseling is not just for unhappy couples; it can be a valuable addition to any relationship since it gives each person involved fundamental tools and healthy coping strategies to manage their communication, show respect for each other, and grow in healthy ways.
Marriage Missionaries | Couple-to-Couple Mentoring
The Marriage Missionaries are a Catholic couple-to-couple mentoring program designed to invite couples to live out God’s plan for marriage. It focuses on the tools needed to live his plan and on equipping couples to be able to pass on what they learned, first to their own children, and then to other couples.
The coaching process consists of seven main coaching sessions. Trained Marriage Coaches take the couple through each individual session. The seven main sessions include:
1. Exploring Family of Origin
2. Understanding God’s Plan for Marriage and the Importance of Forgiveness in our Relationships
3. Priorities in Marriage and Praying Together as a Couple
4. Discovering How to Love through Service
5. Intimacy of the Heart – Free, Total and Faithful Communication
6. The Gift of Sexuality and Living Chastity in Marriage
7. Exploring Marital Spirituality
Love Your Marriage Enrichment Retreat
These day retreats are held on an ongoing basis throughout all of Northern Colorado. They are facilitated by trained therapists from Sacred Heart Counseling and St. Raphael Counseling as well as the co-founders of the Marriage Missionaries program, Matt & Mindy Dalton. Childcare is provided.
Cost: $40 per couple (includes lunch, materials and an option for childcare)
Marriage Encounter Weekends | Colorado
Take your marriage from good to great. Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers a weekend experience designed to give married couples the opportunity to learn a technique of loving communication that they can use for the rest of their lives. Marriage Encounter is not a retreat, marriage clinic, group sensitivity, or a substitute for counseling. It’s a unique approach aimed at revitalizing marriages. This is an entire weekend for you and your spouse to be alone together, to rediscover each other and focus on your relationship with each other and God.
Cost: $100 per couple (financial help is available)
More information: Gary and Brenda Granger at 303.604-6202 or email communication@northerncolorado-wwme.org
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Marriage Retreat.
This one-day retreat features keynote speakers Matt and Mindy Dalton, co-founders of Marriage Missionaries, a marriage mentoring ministry. Matt and Mindy will be speaking on “No Greater Love,” “Healing and Forgiveness,” and “Gift of Self.”
Additional presentations include: “Personal and Couple Prayer” by Deacon Robert Lanciotti, “Passing on the Faith to Children and Grandchildren” by Deacon David Peverley, “Appreciating the Gifts in Each Other” by Deacon Don Weiss, and “Growing your Marriage and Keeping it Alive” by Deacon Jerome and Brenda Kraft.
Location: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, Fort Collins
Dates/Time: TBD
Cost: $25.00 per couple (includes lunch and childcare) – financial help is available
Registration: Contact the parish Marriage & Family Life Minister at 970-227-7393
The Marriage Course
The Marriage Course is a series of seven parish-based sessions for couples who are seeking to strengthen their relationship. Some couples do the course to intentionally invest in their relationship, others are looking to address more specific challenges. Either way, the course offers essential tools and practical ideas to help you build a relationship that lasts a lifetime.
The sessions center around enjoying a special meal with other couples, listening to a talk and then discussing the topic as a couple. Childcare is provided.
Nicky and Sila Lee, authors of The Marriage Book, developed The Marriage Course for couples looking for practical support to strengthen their relationship. The course is designed to help couples build strong foundations, learn to communicate more effectively and resolve differences well.
To see if there is a Marriage Course being hosted near you go to themarriagecourses.org.
