We have been married for 40 years and have learned that our relationship changes as we travel through life together. As a man and a woman bound together by our marriage covenant, we have experienced joys and sorrows, victories and challenges. Most of the time our relationship thrives, but sometimes it can be strained. Through our participation in Worldwide Marriage Encounter ministry, we have learned to use tools to deepen our love and companionship, allowing us to more fully enjoy the good things in life and better weather the storms. One of these tools is to make daily decisions to love.

We entered marriage with the concept that love is a feeling. But through Worldwide Marriage Encounter, we learned that love is a decision. By listening to couples witness how they chose to love their spouse each day, we came to see that forgiveness and self-sacrifice create a resilient relationship. Marriage is always a work in progress, and our church is here to support us.

The Enrichment

The Diocese of Austin, Worldwide Marriage Encounter, Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center and several parishes are partnering to help couples learn more about making decisions to love. On World Marriage Day weekend, Feb. 8-9, marriage enrichments entitled Decisions to Love/Decisiones de Amar will be offered around the diocese.

They are designed for married couples to retreat from the busy, noisy, complex world and focus on each other to make their good marriages even better. Options are available on either Saturday or Sunday, in English or Spanish. Select the enrichment that best fits your needs. Each enrichment is a half-day, closing with Mass. The cost is $25 per couple. Catholic couples will share their stories of growth, challenge and love — inspiring you to grow closer by making daily decisions to love. Details and registration links can be found at www.austinme.org.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter and World Marriage Day

Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) is the largest faith-based marriage enrichment organization in the world. Established in 1968, WWME annually presents 2,000 peer-to-peer experiences in over 100 countries. WWME established World Marriage Day to honor the importance of marriage as a foundation for the family and as an important building block of society. The enrichments offered in our diocese for World Marriage Day 2025 can be viewed as a taste of what a couple can enjoy at a Marriage Encounter experience, typically held over a weekend at a local Austin hotel or Cedarbrake retreat center. Upcoming weekend experiences for the Austin/Central Texas area are listed at www.austinme.org.