Preparing for forever—Marriage Course an investment of faith

Like any engaged couple caught up in the stress of planning their wedding, Antonio and Helen Esquillon were feeling the weight of every wedding detail, from seating charts, song playlists to floral arrangements.

“We had 150 guests, and it was crazy,” Helen recalls.

But there was one detail they didn’t want these pressures to overshadow—the sacredness of their marriage commitment.

So, last February, just a few months away from their nuptials, they did the one thing many couples might consider the unthinkable.

“We said, forget about wedding planning, don’t even talk about the wedding, let’s just focus on growing in our relationship with each other. There’s three of us in this marriage and we need to focus on him,” said Helen.

They took a much-needed pause and retreated to a marriage preparation weekend workshop called “Of Life and Love” organised by the Life, Marriage and Family Team within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation.

“You could invest eight months of planning for one day, but how much time have we invested into the journey afterwards?” reflected Antonio.

The “Of Life and Love” marriage preparation weekend was the opportunity they were seeking, for formation, discussion and practical wisdom. It features talks from married couples, and theological foundation from priests and guest speakers.

Couples are being invited to attend the next preparation weekend on 16-17 November at St Thomas of Canterbury Parish in Lewisham.

Life, Marriage and Family Officer Michael Jaksic, likens the two-day “Of Life and Love” weekend to essential “professional training for engaged couples.”

“It’s a crash course on key aspects of living within a Catholic marriage, covering a wide range of topics from theological foundations to practical relationship skills,” Michael said.

For Antonio and Helen, the preparation weekend has been a gamechanger.

“It’s an investment. You put the time in, and then later, it will bear fruit. We knew if we practiced what we learnt at the retreat, it would bear fruit. And it has,” said Antonio.

“I was very pleasantly surprised with how practical the course was,” added Helen.

“It definitely had a big spiritual aspect, but there was also practical advice about finances, fertility and natural planning and stuff that as a married couple, you’re going to go need.”

For the couple, it was also a rare opportunity to have those difficult conversations many avoid prior to their nuptials.

“I remember one of the questions was, ‘what are you afraid of?’ Having the environment to have that conversation, whether it’s about fertility, finances or even just our general fears, you wouldn’t normally have that conversation, and it has given us such a good grounding,” said Antonio.

“It’s allowed us to know what we want to build our marriage on,” said Helen.

Michael stresses that the principles learned during this intensive program can future-proof marriages if applied in practice.

“The emphasis on practical skills can help couples navigate potential conflicts and strengthen their bond. Over two days, you get to hear testimony from other couples and why they decided to marry, particularly in the Catholic Church. You also hear from priests on the theology around marriage,” said Michael.

“Today’s culture undervalues marriage. This retreat aims to change this, by promoting a culture of life based on relationships.”

He expresses confidence that couples will find the lessons relevant and valuable in the years to come, reinforcing the long-term benefits of this intensive, two-day investment in their future together.

Helen heartfully agrees.

“I definitely encourage any engaged couple to jump onto such an enriching opportunity, because they will enjoy the benefits for years to come,” she said.

For anyone interested attending the preparation course, you can find more information here.