St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in McMinnville is hosting a Couple’s Retreat for Spanish-speaking couples June 10-11, at the church, 1024 Faulkner Springs Road, McMinnville, and all are invited to attend.
The event is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, and 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, June 11, and will end with weekend Mass. The featured speakers are Lucia and Ricardo Luzondo, co-hosts of “Created to Love” (Creados para Amar), a weekly television series on EWTN Global Catholic Network. They are also the co-founders and directors of Hispanic Outreach at Marriage Building USA (Construyendo Matrimonios USA, Inc.).
They will discuss topics, such as God’s plan for marriage, the differences between men and women and how they unite us, litmus tests that affect marriages, sexuality in marriage, and more.
Chris Codden, a parishioner of St. Catherine, said the event came about from her 36 years of experience as director of marriage and family for the Diocese of St. Cloud in Minnesota.
“During that time, I got to know a lot of people along the way, including Lucia and Ricardo. They are just outstanding, and they go all over the world to do these retreats,” Codden explained. “Here at St. Catherine, we’ve been thinking about what we can do to better serve the community.
“We thought, ‘what is the backbone of society?’ It’s marriage and family, and if we can do something to help our parishioners look at their marriages and improve them, then they become better husbands and wives and better parents for their children,” she explained, noting that about 75 percent of those registered at St. Catherine are of the Hispanic community. “That’s one of the missions of our church, to provide those resources so we can come closer to Jesus Christ.”
“We’ve invited not only married couples, but those civilly married or cohabiting,” she added. “Our goal is to help them build a sacramental marriage, to renew their marriages in the Church, or even invite them to come for validation with the Church.”
The cost of the event is $30 with pre-registration or $35 at the door. To get the lower cost, registration is due by Friday, June 9. Food will also be available for purchase throughout the retreat.
To register, call Ashley Vera at 931-743-2280, Cinthya Ramirez at 512-662,2127, Yesenia Martinez at 931-743-3754, or Graciela Almaguer at 931-743-9691.
