Greetings!

One of the great joys of being a host couple for a Marriage in Christ seminar is telling stories about the work of the Holy Spirit in our marriage. It is so helpful for us that about once a week we ask, “if we were hosting a seminar this week, what story would we tell?” Our stories are usually about where he had been at work, sort of like seeing the Holy Spirit in the rear view mirror. However, something new and rather delightful happened the other day.

 

Adella and I had gotten a little out of sync with each other. I was annoyed with something she was doing or saying (I’m sure it was trivial because I can’t recall what it was). Just before I said the wrong thing, I heard the Holy Spirit ask me, “What kind of story do you want to tell? How I reconciled with my wife? or how I avoided a potentially hurtful argument?” I was tempted to say, “give me a minute, Lord,” but I decided that I wanted to tell a story about how we avoided a potentially hurtful argument. So, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “then don’t hurt her with your words.” That broke the tension I was experiencing, and I laughed. I experienced the Holy Spirit in “real time” not just the past tense.

Since then, when we are tempted to be cross with each other, we ask with a smile “what kind of story do we want to tell?” That is our new code for how to diffuse an argument!

In the Pentecost PTA we are experimenting with a new idea.  We have inserted stories that attempt to answer the question  what does the work of the Holy Spirit look like in our marriage?  We have supplied some questions to help you come up with your own stories. We encourage you to share the stories with others. It is a great way to remain accountable and intentional and to witness to the Lord.

In Christ,

Bill Wacker, Director

The feast of Pentecost was originally celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover. In that “spirit” we offer fifty days of PTA and an invitation to encounter the Spirit more personally as you tell your stories about his presence.

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St. John Neumann (Eagan, MN): We recently gathered for coffee and donuts after church. One of the husbands shared, "My wife and I have been doing the PTA about three times a week. And you know what? I'm really proud of that because it's way more than we ever connected in that way before."

St. Maximilian Kolbe (Delano, MN): We spent t he first 20 minutes of our reunion visiting and catching up. Then we gathered as a whole group and shared what has been going on since the seminar. Our pastor came and gave more words of encouragement and what he has observed from the seminar and prayed with us. We spent a half hour in small groups to discuss four questions that we made up. That went very well. We came back together as a big group to talk about what we would like to do going forward. Almost everyone wanted to continue getting together in some form. The night officially ended at 9:00 but some couples stayed until almost 10:30. It was a blast!

We encourage you to get together this summer with couples from your seminar.

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The two-year collaboration between Marriage in Christ and the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis is off to a strong start! The Holy Spirit has certainly been present in our Marriage in Christ teams as they lay the foundation for a positive marriage culture in the seminars they have brought to a dozen parishes. 165 couples have attended seminars in the winter and spring of 2018, and 29 of these couples are newlyweds.

Watch how the seminar impacted this young couple's marriage!

Wedding season is here! Give the gift of the Marriage in Christ seminar to the special newlywed couple in your life. Slip a check into the card you give them and let them know where they can attend the seminar in 2019.

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