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Catholics take marriage seriously, as you can see in the extensive preparation needed to get married in a Catholic church, and the common requirement to be engaged for six months before getting married.
There are many wonderful programs to prepare couples well for marriage, and one of the oldest is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a look back at some of its successes.
Catholic Marriage Prep
Catholic Marriage Prep from Agape Catholic Ministries is the first online Catholic Marriage Prep course, launched online 20 years ago, and endorsed by the Catholic Church. You can read more about it here.
Some 6,000 couples from all around the world completed the online program in 2023, of which 22% were convalidating couples.
The course is a one-on-one mentor-led online program anchored in St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and the teachings of the Catholic Church, accompanying couples in the building of the foundations of their marriage with Christ at the center.
A deeply spiritual program, it also covers practical life skills a couple needs to excel in communication and discussing finances, child rearing, and families of origin.
Preparing at your own pace
A few things distinguish Catholic Marriage Prep (CMP), making it a very personalized option. Instead of spending only a weekend on marriage prep, CMP couples complete the program at their own pace, in anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months. And CMP couples meet live with mentor couples for a unique and personal encounter. Afterward, their detailed feedback is shared with their pastor or deacon.
Christian J. Meert, founder and president of Agape Catholic Ministries, explained, “Our mission is to equip families live God's Plan for humanity, the fruits are beautiful.” He shared some of what sets apart the CMP course:
While the content is faithfully Catholic, it's not lecture-based and is designed to help the engaged couple look for and discuss their own answers, fostering deep discussions between them, which allows them to know each other and God better. They have time to process all the information and ask all their questions, even very personal questions, to their mentors. They also have free access to a Catholic Counselor. And it doesn't stop with marriage prep: We give them resources for after their weddings, webisodes, blogs and more. All of this is available in English, Spanish and French from anywhere in the world.
Twenty years of happy stories
Meert regularly hears from couples who completed the program, many of whom experienced conversions through taking the CMP course. He said:
We don't give any personal opinion, we don't judge, and we don't force the engaged couples to believe: We offer them to search and choose… We just offer the Teachings of the Catholic Church, pray every day for them and hope they have an encounter with Christ during their marriage preparation. And we see many beautiful conversions.
He shared with Aleteia some of the many responses he’s received over the years:
In December, we welcomed our first baby, born 2 weeks before our first anniversary! We are so in love! This Easter Vigil, my husband received all sacraments of initiation!!!! I especially wanted to share this news to speak to the power and importance of the marriage prep course. Prior to the course we took with you, he had really only been exposed to the church through me. Questions, discussion, resources shared, etc., during the marriage prep precipitated more questions, discussion, prayer, and research. A fire was started in him! We have recommended Agape to everyone we know who is engaged or in a serious relationship.
"Thank you so much for your dedication and discipleship with this program. My wife and I took this program 18 years ago and I am happy to say that after 17 blessed years together we are stronger in both our love for each other and our faith than ever. Your program is something that I know—and we are living proof—can benefit any devout couple in their preparation for the sacrament of marriage."
We wanted to thank you deeply for the hours of questioning and reflection that your course provided. Each and every chapter led to this very moment, and we are very proud to now be in this new adventure of being husband and wife. We just got married and wanted to share the news with you since you've been an integral part of it. Thank you so much for this beautiful course. You can be sure we will read the questions and answers again several times.
"I want to thank you so much for helping us many years ago to fully understand the beauty of the sacrament of marriage. My husband and I have been married since 2006 and have 5 beautiful children that we are Catholic homeschooling. I now pass down to them the things that you taught us in that marriage prep class many years ago… Our marriage is very much true to the sacrament, and we love passing on the faith to our children. We have you to thank for such a great foundation for our sacramental lives."
We celebrated our convalidation and I finally received the Sacrament of Confirmation. It has been such a grace-filled time for both of us… I just wanted to tell you thank you for helping us through our journey back to God.
