Before a couple may get married in the Catholic church, the couple must attend Pre-Cana classes (or a workshop, in our case) to prepare for marriage. I thought I would do a little research, and was interested to see what Wikipedia had to say on the matter:
"Pre-Cana is a course or consultation Catholic couples must undergo before they can be married in a Catholic church. The name is derived from John 2:1-12, the wedding feast as Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine."
(Sad confession? When I read this I was like, 'Mmmmm, wine... That sounds good.')
"Approaches to Pre-Cana vary among Catholic parishes. Often six weekly sessions will be led by a priest or deacon with support from a married Catholic couple. Common topics include: compatibility of the couple, basic principles of Catholic marriage and family life, conflict resolution within marriage, and natural family planning."
I won't get into my thoughts on some of those things (at least not today), but let me just say there are parts of this I am looking forward to, and parts I am most definitely NOT.
When Ryan and I met with the priest officiating our wedding for the first time, we reviewed the first half of our results from a compatibility test we had taken. The priest seemed quite convinced that we either completely agree, or that we complement each other perfectly. (I must say, that while he seems really nice, I am glad I didn't have any major issues to discuss with him because he seemed to somewhat... minimize any comments I did make. Hmm.) Either way, when we finished he told us to go complete our Pre-Cana, and then come in for round two.
We had three options at the Cathedral for Pre-Cana. The first is to meet six or seven times over dinner with a recently married couple. While this is apparently very popular, this made me massively nervous. Neither Ryan nor I is the type to meet strangers and discuss our marital future. Too much introversion in this relationship. So that was out.
The second option is Engaged Encounter, which you can learn more about by clicking the link above. I really wanted to do this, because I believe we could benefit from being forced to contemplate our future marriage for a weekend. It is a retreat with activities throughout the weekend to encourage communication. I am a big retreat fan anyway, so this seemed like a great idea. Logistically however, not so much. It is expensive, and it is a time investment. Sadly, two things neither of us felt great about. So this option was out. (If you have been on Engaged Encounter though- PLEASE tell me! I am so curious to hear what it's like.)
Our last option (and the one we chose by default) is the Pre-Cana workshop. For $95, you can spend seven hours hanging out in midtown Atlanta with other couples preparing for marriage. And so we shall, on Saturday.
I must admit, I am really curious more than anything. I am glad we are forced to invest time in talking about marital issues- I am just not confident about how it will be handled. My experiences so far have left some important things to be desired, which is frustrating as a counselor.
So I will let y'all know how it goes- but if you have any inside info, let me know! What kinds of bonding activities should I be prepared to endure? Are we really going to feel comfortable discussing emotionally intense topics in such a public setting?
