Take time to get away together—with Jesus!

Life can be so hectic. It seems from the time the alarm goes off in the morning until we shut our eyes at night, we are busy. There is little time to focus on important things like our faith and our marriage. Finding that peace that we so desire often requires us to get away from the day-to-day stressors.

Jesus and his disciples experienced this same busy-ness in the Gospel of St. Mark. Jesus called on them to “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Jesus was calling his disciples to a “retreat.”

There are many different options when it comes to retreats. There are silent retreats where one goes to focus on Jesus Christ in Word and in the Eucharist. Those types of retreats can range from a three-day weekend retreat to much longer periods.

Other types of retreats are not silent. Cursillo retreat weekends, for example, are opportunities to spend a weekend learning more about the faith and encountering Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament in an atmosphere that encourages sharing and dialogue. There are separate men’s weekends and women’s weekends for individuals to attend.

I have enjoyed many men’s retreat weekends throughout my life and have garnered great spiritual benefit from them. Every time we sacrifice our time to grow in our faith, to encounter Jesus Christ, we leave that weekend blessed. God the Father enjoys giving great gifts to his children.

The only problem with going on a men’s retreat weekend is when I come home to my beloved bride, I am on a spiritual and emotional high from the weekend retreat, while she is in the same place she was when I left on Friday. No matter how much I try to share what I learned from the weekend with her, it is just not the same as being there. The same thing happens when my wife attends a women’s weekend retreat.

Men’s and women’s retreat weekends are wonderful, and everyone should take time annually to attend one. They are game changers in our faith life! That being said, married couples should also consider attending retreat weekends designed specifically for them. These weekends are opportunities for couples to get away together and focus on each other and on Christ.

There are a few different options available to married couples to attend retreats together.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers weekend getaways that enable married couples to rediscover themselves as individuals and as a couple. The weekend format helps couples communicate openly and honestly with each other. There is no group sharing or counseling offered. Couples who attend Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends not only rediscover the joy, intimacy, and romance in their relationships, but often become more active in their faith journey and parish life.

More information about Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends including schedules is available at www.fargodiocese.org/marriedlifeprograms.

Retrouvaille is an international, peer-run program that has helped thousands of married couples in struggling marriages turn the tide, find new hope, and rediscover the love that initially brought them together. Surveys have shown that three out of four couples who complete the entire program are still married five years later with stronger, healthier marriages.

Retrouvaille is open to couples who have experienced any degree of hurt or disillusionment in their relationship. More information about Retrouvaille weekends including schedules is available at www.fargodiocese.org/marriedlifeprograms.

Six Stone Jars Mission was founded by my wife Jennine and I a few years back to provide weekend retreat opportunities for married couples to grow closer to each other and Jesus Christ. While the world tells us that success in marriage depends upon the husbands and wives compromising and meeting in the middle, Six Stone Jars Mission motto is, “Don’t meet the middle, meet at Jesus!” Through prayer, Word and Sacraments offered by Jesus Christ through the Catholic Church, couples can find love and peace in their marriages through mutual sacrifice.

Retreat themes currently available include: The Virtues—Building Blocks for Great Lives and Joy Filled Marriages. And “I AM”—Christ’s Grace Filled Model for Holy Marriages from the Gospel of St. John.

Each retreat weekend includes seminar talks with time for reflection on sacred scripture references after each. Also included is daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, opportunities for confession, rosary, and Divine Mercy devotions, and of course, good coffee!

More information about Six Stone Jars Mission weekends including schedules is available at: www.sixstonejars.org.

There are many options for married couples in the coming months, so take some time to get away together—with Jesus!