MARRIAGE PREP — LIFETIME LEARNING

Ruah Woods is a house built on marriage. Through the exploration of Theology of the Body, our hearts beat to an excited rhythm of learning about our true human dignity, created in God’s image as male and female. The more we value the gift of marriage, a sharing in God’s divine plan, the more we are able to experience an exchange of love so profound, it becomes part of creation.

…OUR HEARTS BEAT TO AN EXCITED RHYTHM OF LEARNING ABOUT OUR TRUE HUMAN DIGNITY…

Supporting a healthy embrace of marriage and family is really at the core of all we do. This commitment is obvious in the introductory Theology of the Body courses we’ve been teaching onsite for a decade and especially our outstanding programs for newly engaged couples – God’s Plan for Love and Life Skills for Couples that prepare couples to more fully understand and live their vocation to love. You can also see this underscored in the family healing ministry we offer through our Psychological Services.

But, to be sure, learning about our vocation to love starts long before the decision to slide on that diamond ring. Remote Marriage Prep is part of a continual process that evolves over the course of one’s life. In Familiaris Consortio, Pope St. John Paul II reminds us,

66. Remote preparation begins in early childhood, in that wise family training which leads children to discover themselves as being endowed with a rich and complex psychology and with a particular personality with its own strengths and weaknesses. It is the period when esteem for all authentic human values is instilled…

…FOUNDATIONS OF A PERSON’S CAPACITY TO VIEW MARRIAGE…

Throughout the themes and lessons in our ROOTED: K-12 Theology of the Body Curriculum, we help educators, catechists and parents explore with the child the meaning of relationships, formation of character (virtue), rightly ordered desire (self-mastery), the male-female difference, and other concepts that form the very foundations of a person’s capacity to view marriage (and its mirror: priestly and religious life) as a glorious vocation and mission. Total gift of self is the only way to achieve happiness in this life AND forever in the next.

Help us build a culture of life across the US and around the world. Visit Ruah Woods Press for the first step.

— Steve Deiters, Director, Curriculum Development (with gratitude and acknowledgement of Meghan Schofield’s beautiful writings as a reference for this piece)