by: Theresa Martin, Executive Director
“I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.” (Psalm 71:16)
Friends, indeed the Lord has been working in mighty ways this year! We must do our little part, but it is God who provides the results. Like a pencil in His mighty hands, God is using our little ministry to bring such joy and love to spouses all over the world! We have seen miracles, conversions, love stories exploding everywhere! What a joy it is to be a part of such a great work of His hands! What a joy to be the instrument of our mighty God with the help of His servant St. John Paul II and under the protection of Our Mother Mary!
We had three unique marriage retreats, two leader couple training courses, translation of The Rule into Spanish (which is almost complete!), and countless conversations of growth and sharing of God’s vision for marriage. One of our marriage retreats was in Winona, Minnesota in collaboration with the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Spouses from several States gathered together for an entire weekend of learning about St. John Paul II’s unique vision of marriage, growing in fellowship with other spouses, leaning into the Sacraments, and strengthening their conjugal spirituality.
One couple attending this retreat, who had struggled with infertility for seven years, felt God telling them that babies were in their future. Wanting only to live God’s will and not their own, they had laid down this desire and said, not our will, but yours be done. And yet, God continued to bring this vision of babies to mind. They were not sure what it meant, but they hoped and they surrendered. They are now expecting!
At another retreat in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, couples gathered together in hope. The whole community had experienced tragedy earlier in the year, but this did not hold them back from pursuing God’s love and healing. It was their open hearts to God that made all the difference! Hearts were healed and love poured in … the surveys from this retreat had a 100% positive response! This is unheard of in ministry. You can read more about this precious community in this article. (ADD LINK)
The leader couple training courses have been bursting at the seams! Couples from all over the United States (26 States now) and across eight countries have felt a call to deepen the spiritual life of their marriage and share their joy with other couples. From Hungary to Denmark, from Poland to Australia, from New Zealand to Austria, the people of God are longing for more! The Church is alive. Don’t be disheartened by the anti-Christian society around you – there are more people than you know who love God with a deep, passionate, vibrant faith. A new dawn of Catholicism is on the horizon – and it is all the work of the Holy Spirit – blessed be His Holy Name!
We are excited to share that the translation of The Rule into Spanish is into its final stages! People can now pre-order La Regla from our website, and be the first to receive it when it is published! We have recently received Vatican authorization for the text, which is incredible! Please pray for all those involved in these final stages of editing, layout, and publishing!
“Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.” (Psalm 66:16)
By the grace of God, I am writing this article in London. I am sitting at a small table outside the Dolce Vita café on the campus of St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. It has been nearly ten days since I’ve seen my family and I cannot wait to return. Sometimes God calls us to stretch beyond what we think we can handle to follow His will. I am here for my PhD studies. My thesis is focused on conjugal spirituality, this beautiful relationship formed by sacramental grace between the Blessed Trinity and spouses, spiritually united as one. Honestly, it has been an exhausting and challenging week, but God’s tender mercies have caressed my fragile heart. Twice I experienced situations that seemed unfair, and yet, because of it, my fellow students all came to my defense. God used it to unite us further and draw me into His love.
Cute story: on a day I was feeling a little low, one of the directors of the program said to me, “I have to ask if you were on EWTN and that Stefanick guy show?”
Smiling and a little surprised, I said, “Yes, I was.”
She got a little giddy (and this is a proper English woman, as lovely as can be, straight grey hair curved perfectly under her chin, thin, classy dresser, not someone who would get giddy, only polite and always affirming and professional), smiled, and said, “I thought it was you! I recognized your face! I watch those shows.”
God is more powerful than anything – giving me little blessings and His winks of love just when He knows I need it. (This woman and I had been working together all week, but only now did she ask me this … how sweet is that?)
May you be blessed with the knowledge of God’s sweet blessings in your own life! We will pray for you!