Top 3
Expectations
Forbes and Therese – Archdiocese of New York, NY
His impression of the prep: I feel as though this class has given me an insight on to how to make a lasting marriage work for us and in the eyes of God. By giving myself entirely to my wife and keeping all of the lessons learned throughout this course in my heart & mind, I'm fully confident in the fact that I will be an ideal husband to Therese.
Her impression of the prep: I would say that throughout the course of this class, I have gained a deeper understanding into what marriage truly is. Going back to an earlier response we gave, I have many friends who get married for the wedding and not the marriage, and I know full-well that I am preparing to get married for all the right reasons. This class has given me a stronger sense of myself through the eyes of God and I can't wait to live my married life with my husband.
Did it meet his expectations: Absolutely. I've heard from friends that an in-person marriage prep course is the way to go because it's "super quick and easy," but Therese and I truly wanted to have a deeper meaning on what a marriage would entail and how to be a strong husband through the wisdom and teachings of God.
Did it meet her expectations: I definitely feel as though this course has met my expectations and more. Being a student who attended public school and went to CCD, I feel as though there were many aspects of marriage that went unspoken about in my classes, and how it encompasses maintaining God throughout. This course has given me tremendous insight into what makes a marriage become stronger after it is formed with a sturdy foundation with God in our lives.
Pedro and Annabelle – Diocese of Sacramento, CA
His impression of the prep: Annabelle and I felt very confident in our relationship and we were prepared to learn about making our relationship much stronger with God through this process. We did not realize how much we still had to learn about our relationship to make it even stronger than before and having Christ with us throughout the process felt so comforting.
Her impression of the prep: Not only did our instructors listen and reflect upon our words and answers, but they gave us so many tools to continue to expand our conversations about us and God. They went above and beyond and we appreciated every bit of it, giving us the confidence to have more communication than we did from the start and preparing us for a lifetime of love.
Did it meet his expectations: I did not have enough knowledge of this course to have an expectation upon it but I had no idea how much help it would provide and I genuinely had fun discussing the topics with my fiancee and getting to pick each other’s brains was such a lovely experience.
Did it meet her expectations: This exceeded my expectations, for we did not have much information about this course due to most people at my Parish being able to go to in-person courses. I was not sure what to expect from an online version of marriage preparation but I had no idea it was going to be so informative, having me think about things I don't always think of, and expanding our knowledge of one another.
Nelson and Maricela (Civilly Married) – Diocese of Sioux City, IA
His impression of the prep: It was a very well-rounded class. I learned a lot and it was very interesting. Our instructors were really good and helpful.
Her impression of the prep: I wasn't sure on what to expect on these marriage classes since we had been civilly married for almost 10 years. But there was a lot that I didn't know and learned. Definitely recommend it and it was a well-rounded class. I loved our instructors. They described everything so good and were very helpful.
Did it meet his expectations: Yes, it did.
Did it meet her expectations: Yes, it went above and beyond.
Top 3
Parish Life
Dillon and Leah – Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY
Impacted his Faith: The course renewed by desire to get closer to God and His Church because it really outlines how following the Catholic approach to marriage is essential to the success of the marriage, and that if we are committed to trying, God will make sure that we realize his greatest vision for us.
Impacted her Faith: This course revived my desire to get closer to God and His Church because I have a newfound appreciation for our mission in establishing God's Kingdom here on Earth. I want to be able to raise a great, connected, value-based family and this course has really demonstrated that the path to accomplish this is through a close relationship with God.
His parish life plan: Our plan to actively participate in parish life includes attending Sunday Mass, praying daily, creating relationship with individuals in our parish, and getting involved in parish events, especially where we are able to volunteer our unique skills to further parish activities.
Her parish life plan: Our plan to actively participate in parish life includes attending Sunday Mass, praying daily, creating relationship with individuals in our parish, and getting involved in parish events, especially where we are able to volunteer our unique skills to further parish activities.
Matthew and Jessica – Diocese of Camden, NJ
Impacted his Faith: It made me feel as though I was closer with God again. It encouraged me to continue learning and growing with my faith in God.
Impacted her Faith: This class helped me realize that God is a part of everything you do. It helped me put into perspective many ways that I never realized He was a part of. It has encouraged me to continue to learn and grow my faith.
His parish life plan: Attend weekly mass and to become more involved in the parish.
Her parish life plan: I would like to go to church on a weekly basis and pray more. I would like to become more involved in the parish.
Matthew and Chloe – Diocese of Allentown, PA
Impacted his Faith: Yes. We both mentioned to each other on numerous occasions that we felt like we not only got closer to each other, but also to God.
Impacted her Faith: Yes! Absolutely! Being raised Catholic is one thing, but sticking to the faith as you grow up is another thing. SO, rekindling our love for our faith through this process has been very rewarding to us as a couple.
His parish life plan: We plan on being certainly more active in parish life. We would like to get to church every week and do what we can to help the church and support the best we can.
Her parish life plan: Making Sunday mass a priority & meeting other couples within the Church community that share similar values :)
Top 3
Communication and Comments
Andrew and Giulianna – Diocese of Allentown, PA
How did it better your commutation: It helped us to be even more comfortable talking about very serious questions with one another. The course also gave us a platform to communicate actively about things that we otherwise may not have actively spoke about together. And it brought about the realization that we may be answering a single question, but in order to do that we had to answer many small questions to get to the main answer, encouraging a deep dive into the logistics and exploration of our answers.
Appreciated most by him: I appreciated the fact that when reading through the lessons and answering the questions, it provoked thought and discussion between Giulianna and I. There were some questions where we would go back and forth in a discussion for over 15 minutes so that we could understand each other’s thoughts on the matter and come to a conclusion of what would be best.
Appreciated most by her: Prior to taking this course, Andrew and I did not as actively talk about the way we would proactively include God in our marriage. I think it was something that we knew was important to us, but hadn't yet been a discussion we had. Because of this course, we have so actively engaged in conversations about God, being active in our church, and been sharing the Lent season with one another. It's been such a huge blessing and I appreciate it so much.
Austin and Christina – Diocese of Sioux Falls, SD
How did it better your commutation: It improved our communication because we learned how men and women work. It also helped us pinpoint certain things we know we do and how we can fix them. We have both noticed how we feel more supported now than we did when we first started the class!
Appreciated most by him: I appreciated the interactive things we could do like the quizzes, love letters, and worksheet! I really helped us interact and learn more about one another.
Appreciated most by her: I appreciated how gentle the class was while still explaining the faith and being matter of fact with it. I loved the Truth behind it and how the class was set up. It was also super nice to be able to go at our own pace because we can only see each other on the weekends.
Mike and Jessica – Diocese of Sacramento, CA
How did it better your commutation: We were able to talk about subjects which we have not covered before without judgement or ridicule. We were able to be open about our desires and goals as a married couple.
Appreciated most by him: I think I appreciated the information on family natural planning and the lesson on forgiveness.
Appreciated most by her: I appreciated the feedback from our instructors. It was obvious they dedicated much time to their feedback forms. They provided us with answers to questions we had as well as relatable stories. We are very appreciative.