A New Marriage Prep Program

Trey Cashion, one of my best friends and a parishioner here at St. Mary's, is the co-author of a new Marriage Prep Program which was just published by Our Sunday Visitor Press. The name is Together in God's Love.

Together in God's Love
A Program for Catholic Preparation for Marriage
by Joseph D. White, Ph.D. and William R. Cashion III, M.T.S.
Imprimatur from Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

The celebration of marriage as a sacrament is not a one-time event, but a lifelong vocation. Marriage and family have been the cornerstones of society in cultures throughout the world and across time. It is, therefore, no small task to help people enter into this lifelong commitment.

Together in God’s Love uniquely combines cultural attitudes, modern psychology, and Catholic theology as couples prepare to become one in Christ through matrimony. Using very practical, multi-sensory, and active learning techniques, the program focuses on the areas of Faith, Communication, Sexuality, and Stewardship to express marriage as a communion of persons, just as the Holy Trinity is a communion of persons. It is attentive to various learning styles as well as cultural diversity through the use of language, games, role playing, and self-assessments.

The flexible format can be used by sponsor couples, large group formats, or multi-day meetings. It combines the best of each approach to maximize participant engagement and comprehension while minimizing leader training and facilitator expertise.

In addition to addressing all the key areas called for in the U.S. bishops’ latest document on marriage, Together in God’s Love effectively combines Church teachings, such as Theology of the Body, with current, relevant, scientific research about healthy marriages that affirms and expands upon the insights of our Catholic Faith.

Congrats to Trey!