40 Couples Spend Valentines Weekend in CTK
by Maria Angelique “Angie” Rualo
Christ the King Greenmeadows’ Family and Life Ministry (FLM) kicked off the year with its first activity—the Marriage Vocation Program (MVP).
Forty soon-to-be wed couples registered and participated in this two-day weekend last February 15 and 16. These engaged couples chose to spend their Valentine weekend preparing themselves for a lifelong commitment with the right perspective of their vocation that God is calling them to. The participants were taught the beauty and dignity of the Sacrament of Matrimony as a sign of Christ’s love for the Church.
The FLM invited married couples to share their experiences regarding sits major topics about marriage. Questionnaires were distributed after each sharing that each couple needs to answer and discuss. The participants were then divided into small groups where a seasoned facilitator controlled the flow of discussion and allowed everyone share.
The six topics were the Sacrament of Matrimony, effective communication, images of love and marriage, sex in marriage, responsible parenthood, and the journey ahead. A special topic on Natural Family Planning was also discussed by Dr. Doy and Dra. Estrel Lopez, the pillars of MVP. Couple sharers and facilitators were from the FLM core and Couples for Christ.
It was inspiring that there were participants who were already civilly married but still chose to be wed in church and receive God’s blessings. To them, doing so makes their union Christ-centered.
Both in the legal profession, Atty. Manny Torres and wife, Jojo, have known each other for nearly fifty years. They got married in civil rites in 1995. They chose to celebrate their forthcoming 25th anniversary by having a church wedding on May 12, 2020. They have been blessed with four children and a grandchild and they are thrilled to have them as part of the wedding entourage. Atty. Torres said that it is “time to put everything into place.” Jojo, for her part, said, “While most of the topics are already inapplicable to our situation, we found the talks and discussions very enlightening and often entertaining. To us, it was a weekend well spent.”
Von Gamba and Steph Matote, another engaged couple commented, “We enjoyed our two-day seminar here at CTK. We have learned a lot of things which can help us in entering a new chapter of our lives. We want to thank all the speakers and facilitators in malting this event successful.”
The program ended with a Mass presided by Ft Steve Zabala. He thanked the forty couples for choosing to be married in CTIC and, despite issues against marriage in today’s world, they still chose to bind themselves with God’s blessing.
The MVP was headed by CFC and FLM core members Aji and Angie Rualo and supervised by Regie and Joanne Polancos, heads of the Family and Life Ministry.
