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eMatrimony Newsletter Supporting, Encouraging and Challenging the WWME Community |
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eMatrimony News
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Winter 2014
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Hello!
In this issue you'll find new details about the 2014 WWME North American Convention in Houston. Please note the deadline for early bird registration is February 28. In our last edition we asked for input from you of memories of Fr. Chuck, and below you will find some of your responses. Thank you to everyone who shared! Please also enjoy a couple of videos of Fr. Chuck talking about WWME and about the importance of matrimony and passion, for the sake of the Church and the world.
Another sad event for WWME was the passing of another great encounter priest, Fr. Gerry Bolduc, OMI. Our very first memory of Fr. Gerry was at a team meeting in Boston, 1987, when he sang a parody version of "Please, come to Boston" in which he invited other areas to come for the section convention. Scott and Karen Seaborn shared their reflections after his funeral:
"We attended Fr. Gerry's funeral. There were as many WWME couples there as there were Oblates, some traveling from as far away as Florida! It was a wonderful celebration of Fr. Gerry's life and passionate ministry. Many of the Oblates shared how important WWME was in Fr. Gerry's life, including his goal of presenting 500 weekends. Stories were told that he hit in the 490's. While we may never know for sure how many weekends Fr. Gerry presented, we do know that he touched thousands of couples and priests by presenting weekends in both English and Spanish. We are grateful for his energetic and generous spirit and his soft heart. We will miss you, Fr. Gerry!"
Doriano & Patricia Doriano, Canadian editors for eMatrimony, celebrated their 40th Anniversary recently and they share reflections from their pastor at the renewal of their marriage. Thank you for the Marriage "Rings"!
We also have a wonderful article from Fr. John J. Smith on his reflections about the upcoming Synod on the Family.
And take a look at the awesome list of people committed to praying for successful weekends through 2014. The International Prayer Vigil spans the globe and can be downloaded and printed out.
eMatrimony editors
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WWME North American Convention 2014: "Living with Passion"/"Viviendo con pasion"!
http://www.wwme2014.org/ Every couple of years, encountered couples and priests from all over North America get together to celebrate Marriage and Holy Orders. In 2014, the Houston area Marriage Encounter community will host the convention under the theme, "Living with Passion." Living with Passion Each one of us has received God's call to live a full life, filled with love through our sacrament. He also calls us to light the world through our passionate embrace of this lifestyle. The lack of passion in our lives leads us to be lukewarm, causing us to forget our purpose and dreams. Instead, living life with passion is renewing our decision to love on a daily basis, it is keeping the impossible dream alive, it is keeping that fire burning inside of us so that we may illuminate the world! Loving passionately leads us to experience a full life ... the existence that God wants for us! We want to invite you to the North American Convention 2014 in Houston, TX so that we may rekindle that passion in our lives together as well as celebrate the passionate love God has for each of us that continues to illuminate every corner of the United States and Canada through the gift of the WWME Weekend. Living without passion is just to exist, survive. Living with passion is to live with all your heart! Keynote Speaker: Father Thomas Vandenberg - Past WWME Presenting Priest
- Served in WWME leadership positions
- Published author:
"The Celibacy Myth" which he co-authored with Fr. Chuck Gallagher, S.J., "Rediscovering a Pearl of Great Price - The Surprising Sacrament of Matrimony." - Give many seminars and retreats on the Sacrament of Matrimony
- Keynote speaker at the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers convention
Save the Date July 25-27 2014 at the Pasadena, Texas, Convention Center. A dedicated team of couples and priests from Sections 10 and 15 is already at work to passionately bring you a wonderful convention. Convention Registration Costs Couples
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| Early Bird: 08/01/13 to 02/28/14
| $180.00
| Regular Price 03/01/14 to 06/30/14
| $200.00
| Late Registration On or after 07/01/14
| $220.00
| Priests/Religious
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| Early Bird 08/01/13 to 02/28/14
| $100.00
| Regular Price 03/01/14 to 06/30/14
| $120.00
| Late Registration On or after 07/01/14
| $140.00
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Want to know more? Click here for more details about the convention. "Like" us on Facebook to find out more and receive the latest news about the convention: Or follow us on Twitter: @wwme2014. Would you like to help? We are looking for passionate couples to help with all aspects of the convention. Time commitment is flexible. Spend as little or as much time as you want. For details, email Rita & Fernando Colina: fernando.rita@thecolinas.com. Convención Norteamericana del EMM 2014 Cada dos años, parejas y sacerdotes encontrados de toda norteamérica se reúnen para celebrar los sacramentos de Matrimonio y Orden Sagrado. En 2014, la convención será organizada por la comunidad de Houston del Encuentro Matrimonial bajo el tema "Viviendo con pasión." Viviendo con Pasión Cada uno de nosotros ha recibido el llamado de Dios a vivir una vida plena, llena de amor a través de nuestro sacramento. Él nos llama además a ser luz mediante la pasión con que abrazamos este estilo de vida. La falta de pasión en nuestras vidas nos lleva a ser tibios, llegando a olvidar nuestro propósito y nuestros sueños. En cambio, vivir con pasión es renovar diariamente nuestra decisión de amar, es mantener vivo el sueño imposible, ¡es dejarnos quemar para poder alumbrar! Amar apasionadamente nos lleva a experimentar una existencia plena... ¡la existencia que anhela Dios para nosotros! Los invitamos a la Convención Norteamericana 2014 para que juntos reavivemos la pasión en nuestras vidas y celebremos el amor apasionado que Dios tiene por cada uno de nosotros y que continúa iluminando los rincones de Estados Unidos y Canadá a través del regalo del fin de semana de Encuentro Matrimonial Mundial. ¡Vivir sin pasión es apenas existir, sobrevivir. Vivir con pasión es vivir con toda el alma! Guarde la Fecha 25-27 julio de 2014 en el Centro de Convenciones de Pasadena, Texas. Un equipo dedicado the parejas y sacerdotes de las secciones 10 y 15 está ya trabajando con gran passion para darles una convención maravillosa. ¿Quieres saber mas? Haz click en "Me Gusta" en Facebook para obtener mas información y recibir las últimas noticias de la convención: www.facebook.com/WwmeNorthAmericanConvention2014. También puedes seguirnos en Twitter: @wwme2014. ¿Quieres ayudar? buscamos parejas entusiastas que deseen ayudar en todos los aspectos de la convención. El compromiso de tiempo es flexible. Dediquen tanto o tan poco tiempo como deseen. Para mas información pónganse en contacto con Rodrigo y Yoli Juarez: lagy60@aol.com. Hugs and God bless you, Rodrigo & Yoli Juarez 2014 NA Coordinators |
 More loving tributes to our beloved Fr. Chuck
We had the opportunity to hear Fr. Chuck give a talk in Killeen, TX back in the early '80's. He encouraged the group to be open to life, to have a baby for him. At the time we had two young sons and had no interest in having more children, but we began to pray about it. God softened our hearts, and we were blessed with a daughter in May of '84. Five weeks later we went to the National Marriage Encounter convention in Chicago, bringing our infant daughter. She slept in a drawer in a Loyola University dorm! At the convention we were able to meet Fr. Chuck and tell him we had had this baby for him. We happened to be in his communion line during one of the masses, and Matrimony magazine ran a picture of us with our baby, receiving communion from Fr. Chuck. A special memory we will always treasure!
Steve and Michelle Braden
Bryan, TX
************************************************************************ We will never forget Fr. Chuck, at an ME Convention, blowing everyone's socks off when he told couples and priests that "Sex is Holy." Boy did he spice up our passion for each other! We also remember him reminding us that receiving the Eucharist should be a most joyful occasion. Too often, he observed, folks came to the host with a pained expression. From that time on, we have always taken great happiness at the privilege of receiving the body and blood of Jesus. Charlie and Marty Coe
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We are so saddened by the loss of Fr. Chuck.We really loved him and always had a special place in our hearts for him.
We made a M.E. weekend in 1977 and had the honor of serving as a team couple.This gave us the added gift of joining with Fr. Chuck on many occasions over the years to come - team training weekends, conventions, and the like.We were also blessed to be a presenting couple on a "Church weekend" along with Fr. Chuck in Western Massachusetts and it is a wonderful memory of a special time with him.He was so tender, loving and encouraging on so many levels. Over our years involved with Marriage Encounter, Fr. Chuck helped us grow more in love as a married couple, he helped us to grow in faith, and he helped us to love the Church even more. For a number of years after presenting with him on the "Church weekend," we stayed in touch with him by mail. We sent him a letter every few months, and he personally responded to each and every letter. Though he met countless couples throughout his wonderful ministry, he made us feel special and cared for each time we heard from him. He was amazing.
What a wonderful gift Fr. Chuck has been to married couples and priests throughout the world.What a wonderful gift to our Church.We know that Fr. Chuck can now be counted as one of the saints in heaven. Dick & DuAnne Pasquini Ludlow, Massachusetts ************************************************************************* We are Lou & Barbara Carcich who lead Central Jersey in Section 3. We have been encountered 38 years and were privileged to know Fr. "Chuck" for many of those years. We were one of the first to assist Chuck in arranging for places to hold the "Church Weekend "and to call and invite numerous couples & priests from around the world to attend including Fr. Bob Uzillio and Cardinal (then Bishop of Sacramento) Mahoney. We were blessed to be in Chuck's presence and as a result learned to live the passion he called all of us to. He was a prophet in his time and as he said many times to us "we are all living saints". Who we are today and what we speak of our Sacraments (Marriage and Holy Orders) are a true testament of Chuck's teachings. We just celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary this past August and are so thankful that the Weekend and Chuck played such an important part in our life. We will truly miss him, but we will go on espousing his messages of love to all who will listen. Love, Lou & Barb Carcich *************************************************************************
I attended Chuck's funeral. It was beautiful. I saw many of the old timers and we rejoiced in Chuck and his life. The homily is something very special... As you may have guessed, Chuck was very close to us over the years. We were very good friends along with ME. He was a very special man. Over the past 20 months during Phil's struggle with Pancreatic cancer, he visited our home several times. He and Phil talked about heaven and what their expectation was for their time when they would go to God. Chuck was beautiful as he gave Phil a sense of peace in Phil's approach to his death. A great man our Fr. Chuck. I know that they, Phil and Chuck, are both together in heaven, perhaps giving ME weekends to the Angels. Submitted by Barbara Matyi, whose husband, Phil Matyi, died in April of 2013. ************************************************************************* We remember the first time we met Fr. Chuck. It was the summer of 1993, just months after our original weekend, and he was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at our section 7 convention. As we were picking up our convention packet, we saw a man wearing a poorly fitting short sleeved shirt, with a pack of cigarettes sticking out of his front pocket, selling books at a table. When we heard that this was THE Fr. Chuck Gallagher, we were a bit surprised. And then, just a few hours later, we heard him speak. We were blown away. He was dynamic, challenging, loving, engaging, charismatic, humble, and very grateful to be in the presence of such couple love. We were in awe of his passion and the love he had for all married couples and for the Catholic Church. Truly an amazing man who continues to change the world. Scott and Karen Seaborn North American Secretariat Ecclesial Team Worldwide Marriage Encounter |
Videos of Fr. Chuck
Challenging message by Fr. Chuck Gallagher, from 2010, (thanks to Don & Betty Schaefer):
"Here's a question for every encountered couple to ask themselves: 'Who is raising the kid that's going to marry my child? Shouldn't I make sure that they're encountered?'"
A 1986 video of Fr. Chuck speaking in Australia:
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Fr. Gerry Bolduc, O.M.I. Former National Priest Leader for Worldwide Marriage Encounter Passes Away
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Jan. 9, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- The leadership of Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME), the original faith based marriage enrichment program, announced today the passing of Fr. Gerry Bolduc, O.M.I., a longtime Worldwide Marriage Encounter priest who held many leadership roles in the movement, including U.S. leadership priest and a member of the WWME World Council.
"Another giant of our WWME ministry has gone home to rest. Our dear Fr. Gerry Bolduc passed away Tuesday morning, Jan. 7th, 2014 having never fully recovered from open heart surgery just before Christmas., said Ron and Judy Pekny and Fr. Rocky Grimard, O.M.I., the WWME United States Leadership Team. "Fr. Gerry epitomized the term 'larger-than-life' -- in his words, his actions, his determination, his overwhelming love for couples, his passionate commitment to Worldwide Marriage Encounter, his love of life (in both its sweet and sorrowful moments), and the heartfelt joy he experienced in simply being our priest," they added.
"While we have a sadness thinking of the passing of Fr. Gerry we are also filled with hope and love as we know that he is with the Lord in Heaven and is joining other saints, like Fr. Chuck Gallagher, S.J., the priest considered the founder of Worldwide Marriage Encounter," said Scott & Karen Seaborn and Fr. Tom Ogg, the WWME North American Leadership Team.
Fr. Bolduc attended a Marriage Encounter weekend in the late 1970s and after that became very involved in the movement. He held various leadership roles including being the leadership priest for the Southwest in the early 1990s and later held the same role in the Southeast in the latter part of the 2000s. He was selected as part of the U.S. Leadership team from 1998 to 2001. He also presented just short of 500 Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends during his tenure with the movement.
Fr. Bolduc was 72 when he passed away in St. Louis. His funeral was held Friday, Jan. 10th at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. A viewing at 10:00 am was followed by a funeral Mass at 11:30 am at the Shrine. Burial will take place later in his home state of Maine.
In addition to Fr. Bolduc's involvement with WWME he served in various roles with the Oblates including pastoral assignments in Maine. He served as chaplain at the Men's Correctional Center in South Windham, ME. He was the pastoral assistant at the Bureau of Human Relations in Portland, ME. He served as chaplain for the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, NY, the Federal Correctional Facilities in El Reno, OK, the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, MN, and the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, NJ. He did vocation work for the Missionary Oblates and was the Director of Pastoral Formation for Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, MI.
Most recently, Fr. Bolduc held parish assignments at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Calumet, OK, and in Florida at both St. John Fisher Parish in West Palm Beach and St. Phillip Church in Opa Locka. He retired at St. Henry's Oblate Residence in Belleville, IL, where he resided at the time of his death. He was preceded in death by his parents, Roger and Juliette, nee Pepin, Bolduc; and a sister, Doris Morin. He is survived by his sister, Murielle, and her husband, Harold Parks, of Gorham, ME.
Memorial donations may be made to either Worldwide Marriage Encounter or the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers married couples the opportunity to spend time together away from the busyness of the world to focus on each other. It offers tools for building and maintaining a strong, Christian marriage in today's world. To learn more about the Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends online, go to wwme.org, or contact the WWME Office at (909) 863-9963.
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Marriage "Rings"
Doriano & Patricia Baisi
On December 15, 2013, Doriano and I were married for 40 years. To celebrate, we renewed our wedding vows in the Chapel of Sacred Heart Monastery on December 7. Father Edgar Polotan, our pastor, gave one of the most heartwarming sermons on marriage and we would like to share some of his thoughts with you. (Please bear with us, we are paraphrasing what we remember and adding some of our personal thoughts.)
Fr. Edgar began his sermon by saying there are six rings involved in a marriage. He asked if we knew what they were? We figured out engagement and wedding rings, but couldn't think of any others. He proceeded to elaborate...
- The first ring is the engagement RING with all the excitement of new beginnings and preparations.
- The second ring is the wedding RING. This brings the full impact of your commitment to another person and the responsibilities entailed with that commitment.
- The third ring is boRING. The excitement and newness has worn off and you may find yourself doubting your decision to enter into matrimony. Who is this person you thought you knew?
- The fourth ring is suffeRING. When the bills pile up and the baby is sick and you are in danger of being laid off, the marriage bond suffers as each spouse tries to cope.
- The fifth ring is offeRING. When we turn to God and offer up our trials and tribulations, we allow Him to work within our marriage to work things out in a manner required for our growth as a couple.
- The sixth ring is enduRING. Enduring love for our spouse. In the gospel it says, "Love never dies." We must believe in our love for each other and choose to love each and every day -- even when it is hard. Our marriage and our vows endure through our efforts.
Later, on the evening of December 7, we hosted our annual Vancouver English WWME Community Christmas Party in our home. As part of that party we shared Fr. Edgar's sermon. Couples began commenting on additional rings we wear, such as:
- heaRING -- concentrated effort to hear more than words, but to also hear the underlying message
- endeaRING -- how much more we can appreciate our spouses as we get to know them and they get to know us. The small actions they perform to sweeten our lives together.
- inspiRING -- how our spouses can still surprise us and call us to better ourselves.
- discoveRING -- how through dialogue and loving listening we learn more about our spouse and their love for us. We share the thoughts and feelings that make us who we are.
- beaRING -- carrying the many crosses of life without complaint as Simon, the Cyrenian, did for Jesus at His Crucifixion and also supporting our spouses at they bear their crosses.
- caRING -- the daily "little things" we do to make life a little easier or enjoyable for our spouse, family or friends.
- ignoRING -- taking your spouse and their needs for granted. Neglecting the tool of dialogue you learned on your WWME Weekend. Forgetting the importance of family. Putting jobs, money, hobbies, etc. before God, your spouse, your family, and your friends.
We're sure you could add more to this list of "RINGS". (This might be a fun/serious ice breaker activity at one of your circle meetings! Please share your responses with us!)
Upon reflection, the last thought we had was that a ring is circular with no beginning or end - an image we have heard of before. Yet when we looked at this list of "rings", we noticed that many of the feelings, thoughts, and experiences we've had, "circled through" our marriage at various periods. The one and the only constant? God. God and His love for us remains even when we feel angry or lonely or abandoned. God, like the ring, the circle, is never ending in his love for us. He is wrapped around us in our happiest moments and in our darkest hours. His love never ends.
"If God is for us, who can be against? For the spirit of God has set us free!" (One of the songs we had sung at our renewal of vows.)
May God bless your marriage and give you the Graces to live in love forever.
10/10 Questions:
1. What "RING" am I wearing today? How do I feel about my answer?
2. What "RING" do I judge we are wearing as a couple today? How do I feel about my answer?
3. Which "RING" do I wish to wear more often? Why? How do I feel about my answer?
4. Which "RING" do I judge has made me grow as person within our marriage? Describe in specific, loving detail. How do I feel about my answer?
5. Choose one "RING" and describe in specific, loving detail what that ring means to you personally. How do I feel about my answer?
6. Name one "RING" that wasn't mentioned. Describe in specific, loving detail what that ring may mean to you and your spouse? How do I feel about my answer?
7. Which "Ring" do we wear most often in our marriage? How do I feel about my answer?
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BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITY OF MATRIMONY
Couple: The best sign of God's love
Fr. John J Smith
In this article I will spell out the biblical evidence that matrimonied couples are the best model of how Jesus loves us, his Church. I deliberately use 'matrimonied' instead of married because the sacred has been totally secularized with the introduction of same-sex marriage. The 'world's parish priest,' as Cardinal Timothy Dolan calls him, Pope Francis, invited all to give input to the Synod on the Family from October 5-19, 2014. The overall theme of the Synod is "Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization." I decided to throw my hat into the ring and offer my two cents worth! My vision is deliberately narrow. My focus is the couple. It is my experience that when spouses are in good relationship with each other, the children take care of themselves and you have a healthy family. Not perfect of course!
I insert two long quotations from an ancient Pope and a modern Cardinal that will challenge the ordained to rethink their vocation in the Church as a superior class. The ordained, like the rest of the Church, need to be newly evangelized and be open to looking at God's plan for matrimony. Remember that the theme of the Synod is in the Context of Evangelization. And couples need to be newly evangelized to believe in their awesome vocation according to God's plan. In this respect they are, through no fault of their own, appallingly ignorant. Maybe we have told them what we, the ordained, think about matrimony but have failed to tell them what God thinks about them and how important they are to him. As a building needs a solid foundation so does matrimony. The rock on which it is built is none other than the Bridegroom and how couples reflect his relationship with his Bride. This is their primary vocation. Not parenting.
A paradigm shift is needed here: from the experience of authority to the authority of experience. That's the brand of authority Jesus spoke. Not authoritarianism but from his lived experience with the Father. Here couples have the edge on celibates and singles. The ordained speak the theory but couples speak from a lived experience. It is my hope that there will be a very strong representation of couples at the Synod. When the bishops gathered for the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), they brought with them Periti. These are theologians who are experts in theology. They accompanied the bishops to advise them. It would be most appropriate if the same happened at the Synod on the Family: bishops bring couples, the experts in matrimony to advise them.
The very core ingredient of the family is the sacramental, matrimonied couple. Like leaven is for the dough, the couple is for the family. The family will be as strong as the couple's love is for each other. Just like the universal Church is as strong as is the family - the domestic Church. If we want to renew the family we must begin with renewal of couples. I invite them, and all of us, to see themselves as God sees and values them. Every effort must be made to keep the Synod on track and sharply focused. If not it will wander into generalities about the family and there is nothing new in this. Situated in the Context of Evangelization, this unique Synod should approach its work in the spirit of the New Evangelization of Catholics in general: One that is new in method, expression and enthusiasm. In this respect Blessed John Paul II said that the core of The New Evangelization of Catholics is a fresh encounter with Jesus. The core of the family is the couple. If the Synod keeps focused on this belief then it will bring a newness, freshness, expression and enthusiasm to family life in general.
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International Prayer Vigil, 2014
David and Jean Fell
For over 10 years, a long list of encountered couples, widows/widowers, and priests, have faithfully been praying for WWME, leadership, marriage in general, and especially for the couples, priests and religious attending the many Weekends around the world. For about 6 years, we have taken on this "loving task," and turn the list in each January. Attached is the list of names SO FAR. Many areas of WWME create this list in scroll form and display them on Sunday mornings. What a thrill we see in couples' eyes when they see such a tangible sign of what we TELL them is happening. So, we hope you might decide to sign up yourselves for an hour, and will be able to spread the word QUICKLY among your boards. We need to have names, city/state/province/country, faith expression of WWME if not Roman Catholic, and email. Thank you for your commitment to this transformational ministry.
Click here to see the current list:
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World Priest Day/ Priesthood Sunday
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Contact Information | eMatrimony Editors
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