Marriage Enrichment Resources

Marriage enrichment resources can be found below. In addition, the Office of Marriage & Family Life is prepared to help parishes present several parish-based marriage enrichment events; for more information call 314.792.7178.

The US Council of Catholic Bishops offers an extensive list of supporting resources for the family and can be found here: marriage and family life resources.

Please also view the Office of Marriage & Family Life booklet of services and resources. 

Marriage on Tap
Marriage on Tap STL: Held at the Pasta House Company at 8213 Delmar Blvd. For a nice date night consider coming for dinner and a great talk on marriage. For information on the next Marriage on Tap, please email: [email protected].

Retreat & Encounters

The Greatest Commandments: A 40-Week Spiritual Journey for Married Couples by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
In this marriage enrichment program, Deacon Harold seeks to build strong and loving marriages that can withstand all of the challenges of life. The program is designed for couples to use in their own homes. Once a month for ten months, couples watch a 20-minute DVD segment by Deacon Harold and then discuss the topic of each talk together, reflect in a journal, and pray for one another.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME)
Looking for the perfect weekend? A weekend to bring you and your spouse closer together? Take your spouse on a WWME weekend, and you will actually improve your marriage! Any married couple who desires a richer, fuller life together, will enjoy Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME). This weekend is designed to deepen and enrich the joys a couple shares together, whether you have been married a short time or many years. The weekend is oriented strictly to each individual couple. 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 to look at your marriage and your relationship to one another, and finally to look at your relationship to God, the Church and the world. After each presentation, the husband and wife have time in the privacy of their room for their own personal discussion, using a unique communication technique taught on the weekend. The weekend starts at 8:00 p.m. Friday night and runs until about 4:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon. A $90 NON-REFUNDABLE application fee confirms your food and lodging. No one is ever refused the opportunity for lack of funds. To register, please call 314.649.7317 or apply online by clicking here.  

Books & Bible Studies

101 Tips for a Happier Marriage by Jennifer Roback Morse & Betsy Kerekes
This book offers Catholic couples concise, practical, and at times humorous suggestions for creating and sustaining a more joyful, peace-filled marriage that is steeped in the beauty and mystery of the Catholic faith. 

Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for your Marriage by Kimberly Hahn
Kimberly Hahn applies Scripture, Church teaching and pastoral wisdom to such practical matters as conflict resolution, communication skills, setting financial goals, healing the wounds of unfaithfulness and cultivating a spirit of generosity toward your spouse.

Family Matters: A Bible Study on Marriage and Family by Curtis and Michaelann Martin
In this book, Curtis and Michaelann present ideas for how to build a happy and holy marriage while drawing upon their own family experiences.

The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman
By learning the five love languages, you and your spouse will discover your unique love languages and learn practical steps in truly loving each other. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with specific, simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse and guide your marriage in the right direction.

Good News About Sex & Marriage by Christopher West
Christopher West provides thoughtful responses that present Catholic Church teaching in a fresh, thoroughly appealing, and convincing manner. 

Just Married: Catholic Guide to Surviving & Thriving in the First Five Years of Marriage by Greg & Lisa Popcak
Nationally syndicated radio hosts and international family life speakers Greg and Lisa Popcak combine decades of counseling, the latest findings in marriage research, twenty-three years of marriage, and the wisdom of Catholic teaching to offer newlyweds a master plan for creating a strong bond in the first five years of marriage.

Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla
Drawing from his own pastoral experience as a priest and bishop before he became Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyla has produced an eloquent and resourceful defense of Catholic tradition in the sphere of family life and sexual morality. He contends that biology, psychology, and sociology provide valuable information on particular aspects of relations between men and women, but that a full understanding can be obtained only by study of the human person as a whole. 

Love in the Little Things: Tales of Family Life by Mike Aquilina
In this book, Mike Aquilina offers anecdotes from his own life while reflecting on Biblical principles about what makes marriages strong and happy, including sacrificing for one another.

The Marriage You've Always Wanted by Gary Chapman
Marriage is God's answer for our deepest human need--companionship. And that, according to counselor and relationship expert Dr. Gary Chapman, is to have deep and lasting union with another, and to truly become one. 

Sex and the Marriage Covenant: A Basis for Morality by John Kippley
Marriage comes into being by a couple unreservedly entering God's covenant of marriage; contraceptive intercourse contradicts the very essence of the marriage covenant. From these considerations, Kippley developed the covenant theology of sexuality described in this book. 

The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse by Art & Laraine Bennett
In no other kind of human relationship is knowledge of the temperaments -- the fundamental personality traits, hard-wired into us at birth, that affect the way we respond to the world around us -- so critical, and so fruitful, as in a Christian marriage 

Audio

For Better Forever: A Catholic Guide to Lifelong Marriage by Gregory & Lisa Popcak
Dr. Gregory Popcak is a nationally-recognized Catholic psychotherapist and author of eight books. He and his wife, Lisa, host a daily program on Ave Maria Radio. Drawing from years of clinical practice, he integrates proven psychology with orthodox Christianity in a way that will surprise and challenge you, whether you are newlyweds or celebrating your Golden Anniversary. 

For Love & Marriage by Johnnette Benkovic
Johnnette Benkovic shares her conversion back to Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church and the struggles that came when her husband didn't share her faith. She explains how the Lord blessed her in unexpected ways and, through the promptings of His Holy Spirit, showed her how she could better love her spouse through it all. 

Marriage & Family: Love Unveiled by Dr. Scott Hahn
Good relationships and marriages are of vital importance to individuals, the Church and society overall, but real effort and wisdom are indispensable to making them strong and lasting. In this focused presentation, Dr. Scott Hahn shares key principles that he has lived out in his own life. 

The Seven Levels of Intimacy by Matthew Kelly
True intimacy means sharing who we really are with another person. We have to move beyond the clichés in conversation and get beneath the surface which involves taking a risk because in doing this, our weaknesses and imperfections will be made known. Matthew teaches practical ways to share ourselves more deeply with those we love and change the way we approach our relationships forever. 

Three to Get Married by Archbishop Fulton Sheen
In this classic on love and marriage, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen places sex in the context of human love, and human love in the context of Divine Love. One of the greatest and best-loved spokesmen for the Catholic Faith, he beautifully presents the Catholic concept of marriage, emphasizing that our Blessed Lord must be at the center of every successful and loving marriage. 

What Every Couple Should Know About Marriage & Prayer by Archbishop Fulton Sheen
What is the secret of a successful marriage? How can couples deepen their commitment to one another in Christ? Beloved Catholic orator, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen illuminates the path by focusing on the essential role that prayer must play in every marriage. His anecdotes and stories illustrate his points and make his teachings more memorable and more easily applied to everyday life. 

Links

• For Your Marriage - An initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• One More Soul - Non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the truth about the blessings of children and the harms of contraception.