Marriage Ministry

Mission Statement

Why a Marriage Ministry Team?

Our pastor, Msgr. Gervasio, said, “The answer is simple—marriage matters! A parish should not be content with providing only a good preparation for marriage. It should also be eager to accompany a couple on the road of married life. In a culture that believes that it is impossible to love another person ‘forever’ we should look to provide tools to sustain and enrich the journey. As Pope Francis has said, ‘Forever’ is not simply a question of duration! A marriage does not succeed just because it lasts; its quality is also important.”

To these ends, the Marriage Ministry Team of Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony focuses on helping couples strengthen their marriage with Christ at the center. Our mission is to serve our parish community and celebrate the sacrament of marriage, supporting each other through worship, liturgy, and marriage enrichment.

We celebrate the sacrament of marriage by having an Anniversary Mass at which time the couples reaffirm their wedding vows, and offer a Mass and dinner for engaged and newly married couples.  We offer evenings of recollection for couples to set aside time to refresh their relationship. Currently we are starting a program for married parishioners to pray for engaged couples throughout their preparation of marriage. Might you be interested in volunteering?

Some future events we are planning include: a Mentoring Program, a Married Couples Retreat, a day of recollection for the widowed, a seminar for new parents, Stations of the Cross for couples, and a family rosary, as well as another Meet and Greet sometime in the future.

We invite anyone interested in helping us promote the sacrament of marriage to join our team. The level of involvement is up to you. We meet on a monthly basis at the church or at the residence of one of our team members.

Email us at [email protected] with any questions.

Would you like to help?

Sources for Help

There are several websites and programs that are available as a resource for marriage:

• If you just want to make your marriage better, see www.foryourmarriage.org. This site includes information on what you can do to keep your marriage strong and healthy. It also includes information for those who are dating or engaged, and for parents.
• If your marriage is stressed or in trouble, Retrouvaille is a Catholic-based program to help your marriage. It has helped countless married couples in all stages of disillusionment or misery in their marriage. Retrouvaille can help your marriage too. For information, call (800) 470-2230 or (302) 832-8044, or visit www.helpourmarriage.com. All calls are confidential.