Marriage Encounter is the most successful and dynamic marriage enrichment experience in the world today. Since its beginnings in the United States in 1968, couples and priests have volunteered their time and energies to bring the Marriage Encounter Weekend to couples everywhere. Today more than 7 million couples in over 91 countries have experienced the beauty and the gift of their weekend.
What Is a Marriage Encounter?
Marriage Encounter is designed to give married couples the opportunity to examine their lives together ... a time to share their feelings, their hopes, disappointments, joys and frustrations ... and to do so openly and honestly in a face to face, heart-to-heart encounter with the one person they have chosen to live with for the rest of their life.
The emphasis of Marriage Encounter is on communication between the husband and wife, who spend a weekend together away from the distractions and the tensions of everyday life, to concentrate on each other.
It's not a retreat, a marriage clinic, nor group sensitivity.
It's a unique approach aimed at revitalizing Christian marriage.
This is a time for you to be alone together . . . to rediscover each other and together, focus on your relationship for an entire weekend. Every marriage deserves that kind of attention!
Any married couple who desires a richer fuller life together. A marriage can never be too good. Marriage Encounter is designed to deepen and enrich the joys a couple shares together, whether they have been married for only a short time or for many years. Marriage Encounter also provides support and encouragement to priests and religious who are dedicated to their state of life, but are eager to be greater.
* Marriage Encounter is not intended for marriages in severe crisis. Separated couples or couples who are considering separation are encouraged to go on a Retrouvaille weekend, not a Marriage Encounter weekend.
Do You Have To Be Catholic?
The weekends promoted on this web site are Catholic in orientation and are expressed in the tradition and understanding of the Catholic Church. They are open to all, and so a certain number of spaces are reserved each weekend for couples of other faiths. Worldwide Marriage Encounter does have Marriage Encounter weekends presented in the context of other faiths and languages. For more information, see the National Worldwide Marriage Encounter website at http://www.wwme.org/.
What Happens at a Worldwide Marriage Encounter?
A series of presentations are given by a team of Catholic couples and a Catholic Priest. Each presentation allows you and your spouse a rare opportunity to look at yourselves as individuals, then look at your marriage and your relationship to one another, and finally to look at your relationship to God, the Church, and the world. The weekend starts at 8:00 P.M. on Friday night and runs until Sunday evening.
Does the Weekend Respect the Couple's Privacy?
YES! The weekend is orientated strictly to each individual couple. You concentrate on your spouse to such an extent that you are hardly aware of the other couples present. The presentations are given to the group as a whole. After each presentation, the husband and wife have time in the privacy of their room for their own personal discussion.
How Does a Marriage Encounter Enhance a Marriage?
The encounter weekend teaches a communication technique, which permits each couple to explore important areas of their relationship in a spirit of love and understanding. By continuing the newly acquired technique begun on the weekend, husbands and wives continually grow closer to live more joyful and purposeful lives.
What Does a Marriage Encounter Weekend Cost?
A $40.00 NON-REFUNDABLE REGISTRATION FEE confirms your food and lodging. At the end of the weekend, each couple is given a blank envelope and asked to make a donation. No one is ever refused the opportunity to make a weekend because of lack of funds.
Marriage Encounter Weekends are held regularly at local motels and retreat houses. In some areas, there is a waiting list for the weekend. Registration several months in advance may be advisable.
For more information or to talk to someone directly, find the contact in your area .
Text for this page is copyrighted information. It is copied with permission from the Worldwide Marriage Encounter brochure "Marriage - a Journey into Love".
The International WWME website