Small groups help Catholic couples enrich their marriages
When Jennifer and Jim Meehan celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in September, both said that they wouldn’t have made it that far traveling the road alone.
Several years into their marriage, the Meehans joined a small group of married couples at the former St. Dominic Savio Parish. Deacon Jim and Rose Murphy started the group in 1991 as a way for married couples to enrich their marriages within a small group community rooted in their Catholic faith.
Since the initial group’s founding, the ministry has developed into Marriage & More, a part of the parish-based Celebrate Catholic Marriage Experience marriage enrichment program.
Having the support of other couples to talk about the ups and downs of marriage has helped them along the way, Jennifer Meehan said. “Marriage is not easy. Having people that we trust to walk with us when it’s hard and vice versa is the key to supporting one another,” she said.
Marriage & More touches on three primary areas:
Commitment: Jennifer said the eight members of their group commit to meet once a month, unless there is a family emergency. The group also observed a phenomenon where the evenings when a couple least wanted to be there (such as arguing beforehand) ended up being the most fruitful. “We all pray over one another, and we’re showing up for each other,” Jennifer said. “We are all spread out over other parishes and in different seasons of life; we are committing to our marriage and each others’ marriages.”
Creativity: Each month, one couple is tasked with designing the activity for their meeting. Usually it’s a topic for conversation, reading and discussing a chapter in a book, watching and discussing a video or doing a trust-building activity to enrich their marriages, spiritual lives or both. “We have rich content and the act of planning it as a couple strengthens our marriages,” Jennifer said. At a recent meeting, Jim was inspired to lead a conversation on hospitality. “It was about how we (as married couples) are offering hospitality and being Christ to one another,” Jennifer said.
Christ-centered: Couples also pray together during their meetings, keeping Christ at the center of their interactions with one another, Jennifer said. Doing this helps keep couples connected with one another and with Christ, placing Him at the center of their marriages, she said.
Catholic marriage small groups
CCME Marriage & More Small Groups: Easy to implement, parish-based small groups for married couples. www.celebrate-catholic.com/MarriageandMore
Marriage Encounter Groups: wwme.org/community/joining-others/
Teams of Our Lady Groups: www.teamsofourlady.org/
More information
Jubilant Marriages is an initiative from the archdiocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life that offers resources to married couples in helping them recognize the gift and sacramental nature of their marriages.
It’s a local response to the U.S. bishops’ 2021 document, “Called to the Joy of Love,” a national framework for marriage and family life ministry. Realizing that married couples and families are the heart of parish life and discipleship, the bishops challenged each other to develop ways to assist Catholic couples throughout the various stages of their married and family life.
Jubilant Marriages also includes spiritual and practical resources for singles who are preparing to live the vocation of marriage, as well as resources for priests and parishes to build community in the parish around marriage.
To learn more, visit www.archstl.org/jubilant-marriages/
