Cana's New Wine for a New Age: Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Pope John Paul II said, I place much of my hope for the future in Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Worldwide Marriage Encounter images God's plan for the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders as the basis of marriage, family, and society - and as means of sanctity. It stresses the profound importance He places on them for renewal in the Church and the world. Through this ecclesial movement the Holy Spirit is at work pouring out anew the ancient vintage of Cana upon His yearning Church, refreshing her weary palate and teaching her once again to appreciate the chalice of sacrificial love.

NASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - Cana is such a heady experience. The bride and groom step into the future with a new spouse, full of Cana's wine, sparkling with promise and hope, ready to be the happiest they will ever be. Quickly, however, they discover that first flavors and impressions of Cana reveal the vintage chalice of Christ, His special marriage gift decanted into their lives.

As it ages, this new marital wine is meant to expand and breathe within them, to sacramentally preserve and purify, enhancing and maturing them into the fragrance and flavor, the bouquet of Christ. What could be more thrilling, more intimidating, than discovering how to live more deeply in Christ through a sacramental relationship in the service of others?

A Heart for Marriage

In 1952, in an effort to nurture this sacramental richness of Marriage, a young Spanish priest began "presentations" for married couples. Father Gabriel Calvo traveled throughout Spain for ten years, offering what became known as "marriage teams of Pope Pious XII," conferences that taught couples how to dialogue more honestly, lovingly and effectively.

Offering his presentation in weekend retreat format, first in Barcelona, then throughout Spain as the movement grew and spread, Father Calvo and his team addressed the International Confederation of Christian Family Movements in Caracas in 1962, at which point the Weekend spread to Latin America and to Spanish speaking couples in the United States. It grew so rapidly that by the summer of 1968, 50 couples and 29 priests were presenting Weekends in the US, and differences of philosophy and method began to arise among the movement's leaders.

With its strong emphasis on marriage as a Sacrament of the Church and therefore a means of Her renewal, Worldwide Marriage Encounter retained the Catholic expression of Fr. Calvo's vision of such renewal through his Marriage Encounter ministry, while the National Marriage Encounter emerged to focus on non-Catholic or non-religious couples. Both continue today.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter

World Wide Marriage Encounter, however, has since expanded internationally, and Fr. Calvo's Weekend is currently a powerful evangelizing force in 88 countries, nurturing sacramental marital relationships and a lower divorce rate, and refreshing and strengthening the Church through the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders.

WWME provides enrichment and ongoing support for couples and religious who are not in crisis. Through 44 hours of uninterrupted "alone-time" they are inspired and equipped to greater depth and intimacy through group presentations followed by private time for discernment and discussion.

By stripping away the distractions and tensions of everyday life, the WWME Weekend provides a quiet, meditative environment for couples to focus on one other and their relationship. Not a retreat, group therapy, or marriage counseling, WWME is, instead, a unique approach aimed at revitalizing Marriage on the earth, whether one's spouse is human or Divine.

Unique Approach

A Catholic priest is always present on a Worldwide Marriage Encounter experience, lending his own sacramental presence to couples and religious as they strive to live out fully intimate and holy marital relationships within the richness of Catholic experience and community.

Presenting couples are themselves in sacramental marriages and active in their Catholic faith and parishes, many as CCD educators, Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors. Together, they embrace participants wherever they are in their marital covenants and help them move toward more supportive and intimate relationships with their spouses.

An Ecclesial Movement, the Finger of God

As an ecclesial movement, Worldwide Marriage Encounter images God's plan for the the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders as the basis of marriage, family, and society and a means of sanctity. It stresses the profound importance He places on them for renewal in the Church and the world.

Marriage or Holy Orders is a supreme, lifetime work requiring sacramental grace, and the families born through these relationships are the path to sanctity for those who choose them. Like wine, time alters the lifetime covenant, deepening it, softening its youthful bite, and encouraging the development of a more complex flavor, structure, and aroma.

The aromas of aged wines intertwine in a most intimate and complex manner; it is at the interface between wine and air that they are released. Similarly, it is the Holy Spirit's living action that releases His fragrance, intimacy and complexity in a sacramental marriage.

Pope John Paul II said, "I place much of my hope for the future in Worldwide Marriage Encounter." Perhaps he had already discerned that through this ecclesial movement the Holy Spirit was at work pouring out anew the ancient vintage of Cana upon His yearning Church, refreshing her weary palate and teaching her once again to appreciate the chalice of sacrificial love.

-----

Sonja Corbitt is a Catholic speaker, Scripture teacher and study author, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online. She is available to speak on the New Feminism, current events and your preferred theme. Visit her at www.pursuingthesummit.com for information and sample videos.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online