Denver Catholic

I t's a tale as old as time: he gets down on one knee, ring in hand, and pops the big question. Time stands still as he waits with bated breath for the answer he's hoping for. Through tears of joy, she manages to blurt out "yes!" and thus marks the start of a beautiful new beginning for the soon- to-be newlyweds. The big day will be here soon, complete with church bells and all! Not soon enough, though, because before they stand before the altar and share their vows, they have to go through…marriage prep. What a buzzkill! Or is it? As we've seen throughout this issue, the Church recognizes the Sacrament of Marriage as something beautiful to be cherished and nourished. Rather than be preoccupied with the "how" of all the wedding planning, Mother Church asks those seeking marriage in the Church to first look at the "why" of marriage – and it is indeed a profound and deep "why." Planning the wedding and reception is a big part of it, to be sure, but throwing a big party is not why two people should enter into marriage. They should enter it because it is a call from God to love and be loved, to welcome the gift of children, and ultimately, to be sanctified. W H AT I S M A R R I AG E P R E P ? T H R E E T Y P E S Marriage preparation is a concept foreign to the secular institution of marriage and also many other Christian churches. While most marriage-related programs are pre- dominantly focused with the end of marriage, i.e. divorce support, the Catholic Church is unique in that it seeks to properly prepare couples not only for the practicalities of mar- riage, such as relational intelligence, like skills, finances and the like, but it desires for couples to understand marriage as a sacrament — that is, the visible manifestation of an invisible reality. In the case of marriage, the sacrament is reflected in the couples' striving toward holiness in union with one another and with God, and in the fruitfulness of marriage — in other words, kids! Deacon Colin Coleman is the mar- riage specialist for the Archdiocese of Denver's Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministry. He's been in family and marriage ministry for many years, and he's witnessed first- hand the fruits that it can bear within marriages. "I think why the church has this opportunity to call couples to preparation for marriage is, yes, it is a sacrament for two bap- tized people, but primarily I think the goal is that it's a vocation," he said. "It's a vocation that has a great impact on the world. John Paul II said, 'so goes the family, so goes the world.' So it's this idea of preparing couples for that respon- sibility." ⊲ MARRIAGE PREP & NFP PREPARING COUPLES TO GROW 'OLD AND WRINKLY' TOGETHER Marriage preparation and Natural Family Planning reflect the beauty of the sacrament BY AARON LAMBERT Managing Editor of the Denver Catholic 34 FEB-MAR 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC

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