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You're Engaged. Now What?
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Questions?
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Deacon Justin Mitchelljmitchellbiloxidiocese.orgDirector of Marriage and Family Life -
Deacon Jerry Dubuissonjdubuissonbiloxidiocese.orgCo-Marriage Preparation Director, St. Thomas The Apostle, Long Beach -
Deacon Norm Cantrellencantrellebiloxidiocese.orgCo-Marriage Preparation Director, Most Holy Trinity, Pass Christian
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Why marriage Prep
Why Prepare: The marriage formation process is to assure that you are free to marry, have the capacity to marry and the right intention to marry. Further the formation process provides assistance in your final months of discernment of the sacramental bond where you will promise to be faithful “for better or for worse” and to love and honor each other every day of your life.
What to Expect during Marriage Formation: “Immediate Preparation” for marriage should begin six to nine months ahead of the anticipated date of your wedding. The process begins with an initial meeting/s with a Priest or Deacon, followed by four educational steps and concludes with a final meeting with the Priest or Deacon just prior to the ceremony. These pastoral and educational steps are available in our couples guide.
Couples Guide
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STEP ONE: Where am I getting Married?
Choose your parish and reach out to the parish office to set up your initial meeting.
Our Parishes
STEP TWO: Meet with the Priest and marriage coordinator for your parish.
The marriage coordinator may be the Priest of the parish, a Deacon, or a lay person. The parish office or one of our Marriage Prep Directors will help you get in contact with the right person. You might have to meet separately with the Parish Priest and the marriage coordinator.
STEP THREE: Decide on your Couple Sponsor and marriage prep.
Every parish is different; some will have specific Marriage prep plans. But we have also provided marriage prep programs you can complete with your couple sponsor, listed below. The parish marriage coordinator will help you set this up and choose your sponsor.
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All About Marriage Prep
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Meeting with Your Parish's Marriage Coordinator
This could be a Deacon, lay Person, or the Priest at your parish. Most Parishes use FOCCUS for this meeting. Find out more about the initial inventory of your marriage in the couples guide
Couples Guide
This is also the time to set up your couple sponsor and find out what couple sponsor program will work best for you and your future spouse.
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Couple Sponsor Program Options
For Better & For Ever, A Resource for Couples Preparing for Christian Marriage.
In using For Better & For Ever, sponsor couples are trained to meet the engaged “where they are” as the starting point for dialogue about the vocation of Matrimony. Used by most parishes in the Diocese.
Better Together.
Better Together is a video-based sponsor couple program consisting of 12 components administered in 6 sessions.
CatholicMarriagePrep.com
CatholicMarriagePrep.com is based on Saint John Paul II's Theology of the Body and is the only online pre-Cana program offering personalized one-on-one mentoring by trained married couples. These mentors guide couples throughout the entire process. CatholicMarriagePrep.com encourages couples to deepen their relationships with each other and with Christ. A key objective of their marriage preparation is to foster meaningful discussions between the future bride and groom, helping them build a foundation for a strong, healthy, holy, and Christ-centered marriage. The program is available in English, Spanish, and French, and also offers separate courses for Convalidation, Military, and Urgent Care. Register Today!
Unveiled: Marriage Prep Anytime, Anywhere.
The preferred online/ DVD Sponsor Couple Program for the Diocese of Biloxi when an engaged couple is separated by distance is Unveiled: Marriage Prep Anytime, AnywhereBeloved, Finding Happiness in Marriage.
Run by Augustine Institute. Currently 2 parishes use Beloved; St Alphonsus, Ocean Springs and Sacred Heart, Pascagoula.
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Natural Family Planning (NFP)
The Catholic Church supports the methods of Natural Family Planning (NFP) because they respect God's design for married love. In fact, NFP represents the only authentic approach to family planning available to husbands and wives because these methods can be used to both attempt or avoid pregnancy. When learning about NFP, it is important to know that:
Natural Family Planning is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid conception. These methods are based on the observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's menstrual cycle. Some natural methods include use of fertility monitors to better understand the time of the wife's fertility. Married couples using NFP to postpone conception abstain from intercourse and genital contact during the fertile phase of the wife's cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy. Married couples who use NFP to attempt a pregnancy, make use of the fertile window--the optimum time when conception is likely.
Learn More
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Marriage is a sacred calling, about God and serving God’s purposes. It's a vocation just as the priesthood of a priest is a vocation. Marriage is a covenant relationship wherein a man and a woman establish themselves in a partnership for life. God is present in this relationship to bless, assist and guide you.
This relationship is ordered for the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children. Through Matrimony, God raises up the “Domestic Church” where faith is planted in the hearts of children and radiated to the surrounding world.
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Other Resources
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Learn More Locations
Catholic Engaged Encounter offers Premarital Retreats all over the United States.
Check out locations, to find a Retreat with dates that work for you and your future spouse.
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