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The Church takes marriage seriously and invites couples to prepare adequately for the dignity of marriage. Just as one must prepare for any profession by attending college or some type of technical school, so too the Church asks for marriage preparation to assist couples to live out marriage as a faithful, loving indissoluble union open to children. It stands to reason that the more effort and participation both partners put into the preparation, the better off they are, and the more meaningful experience they will have.
Pope John Paul II wrote: “The Church must therefore promote better and more intensive programs of marriage preparation, in order to eliminate as far as possible the difficulties that many married couples find themselves in, and even more in order to favor positively the establishing and maturing of successful marriages.” Thus, the Co-Cathedral commits itself to foster loving and healthy marriages at their beginning and thereafter.
Registration/Payment: All couples MUST be pre-registered to begin attending Marriage Preparation prior to attending the first session, the Initial Couples Session. Pre-registration means that the registration forms have been completed and acknowledged by the parish prior to this session.
Walk-ins are not permitted.
Fee Schedule: All fees are due, as indicated below in exact cash or check, for your convenience, we also accept payment by phone with bank card. We do not keep cash on hand and checks that are returned for insufficient funds do incur a penalty fee.
- For couples marrying at the Co-Cathedral, a $40.00 online FOCCUS session fee is due and payable upon securing your wedding date.
- For couples not marrying at the Co-Cathedral, but are preparing for their marriage by taking sessions only, a $340.00 fee is required to be paid in full when registering for the marriage preparation sessions. This includes the $40.00 FOCCUS fee.
Marriage Preparation: All of the sessions are provided by qualified, experienced instructors with an advanced knowledge of the topic they present. Listed below are the session times, and descriptions of all required marriage preparation sessions. Couples must complete all preparation sessions by the deadline established for their wedding (See "Frequently Asked Questions.") Failure to complete all required sessions, or another approved archdiocesan marriage preparation program, may result in the postponement of your wedding.
Days/Time: The five scheduled Marriage preparation sessions are held on Sunday afternoons at Cathedral Centre. Sign-in is 12:00-12:25pm, with the instruction occurring 12:30-2:30. Couples are strongly encouraged to attend Mass at the Co-Cathedral. There is much information to be shared at all sessions, therefore punctuality is expected. Please plan accordingly so as not to run late.
Schedule: The Initial Couples Session typically occurs on the first Sunday of the month. Sessions A-D rotate throughout the year, with a total of 3 occurrences for each. Couples should check the schedule regularly, as some sessions will be cancelled or moved to accommodate holidays or special events in the parish. The sessions are listed below:
- Initial Couples: This session is the first of the sessions and must be taken before any others. The focus of this session is on the theology of marriage and review of wedding requirements & expectations at the Co-Cathedral.
- Finance (A): The focus of this session is on communication and planning for financial health. Couples receive helpful tools for budgeting, establishing realistic expectations of living expenses, and communicating on issues of credit, insurance, and so forth.
- Communication (B): This session focuses on the tools for effective and healthy marital communication, within the Catholic framework of marriage.
- Prayer & Spirituality (C): Couples in this session will learn to integrate a prayer and spiritual life into their relationship, as well as a way of holding each other accountable to their vows from the actual readings and prayers they choose for their nuptials.
- Sexuality & Natural Family Planning (D): Within the Catholic theology on human sexuality and reproduction, this class provides the couple with the Church's teaching on healthy sexuality within marriage, and safe, acceptable and viable practice of family planning. Natural Family Planning is a national program used by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Office of Family Life. Unfortunately due to time restrictions, this particular session includes only a short introduction to NFP. Couples will be provided with the handouts and online resources on how to proceed in order to incorporate NFP into their marriage relationship.
FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couples Communication, Understanding, and Study): FOCCUS is an inventory tool to help the church and the engaged couples identify areas in the couple's relationship that may need further development, understanding, and resolution. Each individual completes the tool without the aid or input of their partner. The completed tool results are shared only with the couple by the clergy that is preparing them. FOCCUS is offered after the completion of the Initial Couples Session, and will be completed online. The details about this process are presented at the Initial Couples Session.
The Music/Liturgy Preparation Session occurs 5-6 times every year, usually on a weekday evening. This seminar is for couples only, attendance is limited and ALL couples must meet certain requirements and be pre-approved before attending. Once approved, any couples able to attend will be sent a notice of confirmation for their assigned session. You must use the parish organist and cantor. Outside musicians cannot be used without the permission of the Director of Music. All sessions are held in the Cathedral Centre.
Individual preparation sessions with the clergy (priest or deacon) will be scheduled according to agreed upon times/days, and will occur based on the needs of each couple as determined by the clergy. Typically, these sessions will occur closer to the time of the wedding with a review of the results from the FOCCUS tool.
