Mater Dei Marriage Encounter Community

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Spiritual Development Path for Couples

Guided by the MEFP’s TOTAL PROGRAM IN FAMILY SPIRITUALITY

1. ASPIRANCY PROGRAM

1) Point of Entry = Marriage Encounter Weekend
2) 1st week after M.E. = Orientation/Admin Talk
3) Weekly Prayer Gatherings
4) Class Deepenings
      · 1st deepening
      · Business meeting/s
      · 2nd deepening
5) M.E. Life in the Spirit Seminar (with talk on Mary, “Mater Dei”)
6) Sponsorship for M.E. class

2. MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM

7) M.E. Deepening Series = (8 remaining sessions)
8) Basic Talk on Gospel Christology
9) Basic Talk on Gospel Mariology
10) Maturing in the Spirit Seminar… Commissioning Rite (full pledged membership)

3. WORKERS’ FORMATION

11) Weekend talk on Basic Attitudes for Congregational Work and on Ministry and Community (including session on Spiritual Gifts test)
12) Enrolment into ministries/apostolates
13) Orientation & Equipping seminars = on Ministry levels
14) Basic Seminar on Prayer
15) Basic Seminar on Sacred Scriptures
16) Workers’ Retreat – Theme “Washing of the Feet”

4. SHEPHERDS’ FORMATION

17) Weekend talk on the Spirituality of the Shepherd
18) Shepherds’ Equipping Seminar (Shepherd Formation Seminar)
19) Fullness of Life Retreat

5. BASIC ON-GOING FORMATION

20) Weekly Prayer Gathering
21) Community Bible Study
22) Marriage Encounter 2
23) Christian Parenting for Peace and Justice

How members are formed in MDMEC

The mere attendance of a couple, a priest, a nun or a seminarian in the Marriage Encounter Weekend program of the community under the Marriage Life Apostolate automatically make them members of the Mater Dei M.E. Community. Mater Dei is a non-stock, non-profit organization duly registered with the SEC.

The spiritual journey of an encountered couple is long but they will be helped every step of the way by Mater Dei M..E Community through all its programs.

The first step of the journey is the Marriage Encounter (M.E.) Weekend seminar. After a couple has attended the MEWeekend, they are invited to attend the Prayer Gathering where they are introduced to the other couples and their families who, like them, have attended the M.E. conducted by the Community. In this assembly, the couple is introduced to corporate prayer. In the MEW, couples are reminded that one way to practice spirituality in marriage is to establish a regular dialogue with God through personal, couple and corporate prayer. So, all the members honor and give thanks to God in the first Friday Mass, they give praise to Him, sing and act out songs as one community, are given regular catechesis, and are enlightened about the Word through the weekly guest speakers.

Another program is the Family Life Apostolate. The couples believe that after they have reconciled with each other and with God in the ME weekend, the most important step that they have to do next is to be reconciled with their children through their attendance in the Family Encounter Weekend or FEW.

To sustain the new found spirituality of a couple and also to deepen their faith and belief in God, they then take the next step of the journey which is their attendance in a two-day Catholic Life in the Spirit Seminar and Maturing in the Spirit Seminar. The hunger and thirst for the Word initiated by the personal witnessing of the speakers is filled up with the monthly evening Bible Study which is conducted by Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP.

After taking up the 10 monthly ME deepening sessions within one year and the other follow up programs for the following year, the couples are motivated to reach out to others outside the community - to offer their time, talent and treasure by serving as auxiliaries or by sponsoring a one-day marriage enrichment which is given free to the underprivileged couples.

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