Dear Friends, We wish all of you a Blessed Lenten Season. ME Goa will be organizing a Engaged Encounter (EE) Weekend for couples planning to marry within the next 6 months. this program is open to couples of all faiths. It also open to couples who are newly married. The dates scheduled are 27 to 29 March 09 at Dasya, Porvorim, Goa.
Please pray for the success of this weekend. We have not conducted an EE weekend for the past 5 years after Fr. Osie got transferred to Bombay. Fr Leslie has now very graciously agreed to help us out and so we are trying to restart as couples who have experienced the weekend have been constantly asking us to start once more. Please pass on this message to your friends and relatives and if possible to your Parish priest. *Looking for information about a Catholic Engaged Encounter Weekend? * Catholic Engaged Encounter is a weekend retreat away with other engaged couples with plenty of time alone together to plan for a sacramental marriage. It is designed to give couples planning marriage the opportunity to dialogue honestly and intensively about their prospective lives together-- their strengths and weaknesses, desires, ambitions, goals, their attitudes about money, sex, children, family, their role in the church and society--in a face to face way. *What Happens on a Catholic Engaged Encounter Weekend?* An atmosphere is created for the two of you to concentrate exclusively on each other, free of the distractions, pressures and interruptions of daily living – a "time out" away from home, friends, and wedding preparations. There are no group dynamics or group therapy. It is a quiet weekend, specifically designed to give you the opportunity to talk honestly and intensively about your future together – an opportunity to discover a deeper appreciation of your relationship and God's call to unite in a permanent union, the Sacrament of Matrimony. The weekend consists of a series of presentations beginning Friday evening and ending Sunday afternoon. Led by a team of married couples and a priest, the two of you are encouraged to talk privately with each other on many aspects of marriage, always from the viewpoint of your own relationship. Among the subjects you will have an opportunity to discuss with each other are your ambitions, goals, attitudes about God, sex, money, children, family, and your role in the church and community. Personal reflection and couple discussion are the main focus of our weekend. Since each relationship is in a different place, your private answers will be unique and special to your relationship. Through personal sharings, the members of the presenting team talk about what the Sacrament of Matrimony means to them individually and the impact a great marriage can have on the world. We will not tell you how to live your life. Our stories are meant to encourage you to explore your own attitudes and expectations. We will offer some good ideas and tools to help the two of you to continue growing closer through the years. *Why Should We Go on A Weekend?* Our motto is a "A wedding is a day, a marriage is a lifetime." Think of all the preparation you have done for your career or job. Most us spend years studying or learning. Think of the preparation taken for your wedding day. Most people spend months planning and many dollars preparing for their wedding. But how much time and effort do we spend preparing for what we hope will last 50 or 60 years – our marriage? Ask yourself this question, "Am I willing to spend 44 hours devoted to hearing ideas and learning skills that will help to make my marriage the best it can be?" Contact the undersigned for more information. Thank you and May God bless you. Valentine (Vally) & Anna Coelho Unit Coordinators, Worldwide Marriage Encounter Goa -- Valentine (Vally) & Anna Coelho Visit our blog: http://tob-attitudes.blogspot.com/
