The first weekend of June brought two important celebrations for the Church and for the Alliance of Catholic Marriage Organisations. The postponed 50th anniversary of Worldwide Marriage Encounter England and Wales and the feast of Corpus Christi.
Marriage Encounter, a worldwide organisation and established in England in 1972 runs weekends for couples that offer the opportunity to spend quality guided time away from the complexities of life to focus on their marriage, with many finding that this way of enriching their marriage becomes part of their lives. Their desire to support couples in deepening their relationship and to serve the Church is the common thread that draws all members of the Alliance together and so it was with great joy that members from each partner organisation joined Marriage Encounter for their special anniversary celebrations.
You will see from the beautiful logo designed to celebrate the weekend that the feast of Corpus Christi, the body of Christ, is central and parallels drawn between the Sacraments of Eucharist and Marriage resonated throughout the weekend. In marriage we live out our covenant to each other in our daily loving of one another, our very life is the witness we give. We don’t have to do anything different or difficult, just live our commitment as faithfully as we can. During Mass the consecration of the bread and wine into the body and blood represent Christ’s covenant of love with the Church, us, sealed with His blood on the Cross.
‘We give our lives for one another as Christ breaks and shares His body and blood for us’.
Of course, this goes beyond the couple relationship, we are also asked to use our celebration of God’s love for us to share the News with others. Bishop David Evans gently reminding and encouraging everyone gathered, to reflect this Unity, really understand our Identity as children of God, and to go to the Peripheries to welcome others.
For me, the experience of being amongst married couples from across the generations and watching 15 priests and a Bishop all celebrating Mass together drew all the cords of the celebratory weekend together. The Sacraments of Marriage and Eucharist together with the signs of their Sacrament – the couples and the bread and wine outward signs of God’s love for us, His Creation.
Congratulations to Worldwide Marriage Encounter England and Wales on your 50th anniversary!
This post was written by Fran Watson, Head of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment at Marriage Care, with input from across the Alliance.
www.allianceofcatholicmarriageorganisations.org.uk
Home – World Wide Marriage Encounter England and Wales (wwme.org.uk)
