REACHING OUT TO COUPLES IN PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE BLESSING

ByJulita, SOCCOM Tawau

Tawau : The Church is always open to everyone who wish to be in full communion with God. The Family Life Ministry of the Holy Trinity Parish Tawau responded to the challenge of the Church's mission by organizing a visit and conducting a spiritual session on marriage to 14 Indonesian couples who wished to have their marriage blessed.

 

11 members of the Parish Family Life Ministry conducted the session on 17th October at St. Clement Brantian under Holy Trinity Church Tawau, about an hour and a half drive from the main town. The session began with the proclamation of the Gospel followed by an Opening Prayer led by Julita. 

This response is in line with the mission of the Church; to reach out to those who live far away and not able to attend any formation regarding marriage because of the distance, transportation and also documentation problem. The couples were eagerly looking forward to the session because of their desire to have their marriage blessed.

Basically, most of them have been married 10 to 30 years ago but has not had the opportunity to get their marriage blessed due to their ignorance of the church's requirement. Some encountered problems with documents.

Topics covered:

1. God’s Plan and the Sacrament of Marriage by Sr. Liza Augustine, fsic

2. Communication in marriage by Petrus Bernadus

3. Economy in the Family by Edward Nuing

4. Intimacy in Marriage by Mario Domingo

5. Responsibility of Catholic family and Natural family Planning by Julita Kantod

6. Briefing and information on Marriage Blessing by Melvin and Linda Lajanti.

All participants were touched by the message shared by the speakers  for they  never had the opportunity to attend such formation session before  especially on the responsibility as a Catholic family. The session ended at 2.30 pm with a Closing Prayer led by Sr. Liza fsic followed by a group photo session.