Renewing our society thru ME

By FR. BEL R. SAN LUIS, SVD

July 27, 2011, 12:35am

MANILA, Philippines — According to a joke, when a couple is newly married, the word ASAWA (spouse) is complete. “But as the years pass, the letters gradually disappear. After a couple of years, the A vanishes and what have you?” ‘Sawa,’ (fed up).

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Then after a couple more years, the S disappears and what’s left is ‘Awa’ (pity). After some more years, the A fades away, too, and what remains? ‘Wa’! (no more) — no more love or no more spouse! And it’s not because he passed away (sumakabilang buhay) but took another woman (sumakabilang bahay).

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One possible remedy against a breakup or the “wa na” stage is for couples join a marriage enrichment seminar called Marriage Encounter. Last July 22-24, I was part of an ecclesial team which conducted a ME weekend seminar (MEWS) of the Blessed Sacrament ME Community at the SVD Retreat House in Tagaytay.

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Although hectic and taxing, the Marriage Encounter has always been a joyful and fulfilling experience for me and the sponsoring Class #46 after helping couples who either had strained relationships or who had reached a blind alley in their marriage.

The weekend seminar based on the experiential talks of the presenting couples, Mar-Pat Zamora and Ding-Polet Teves, before and after their own renewal showed how the couples could communicate with one another in a loving and non-judgmental way. Very often the failure to talk harmoniously about marital problems and grievances has been the cause of broken relationships.

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The role of God in the couple’s marriage is likewise stressed. “I didn’t realize that God was part of our married life,” one husband confided.

The weekend encounter is also an opportunity of reaching out to lukewarm Catholics, some of whom had not gone to confession since their First Holy Communion in grade school.

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Others did not even know what confession was all about. “I don’t remember when my last ‘confusion’ was,” wrote one. Another said, “This is my first compassion.”

This only shows there’s a lot of catechising or religious instruction to be done among Catholics today! A concern for church leaders.

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Undoubtedly such marriage renewals are a tremendous boost to the country’s moral foundation and the government’s moral regeneration program.

If more and more couples are reformed, then society will likewise be reformed since society is composed of individuals and families. Who murder? Who do illegal logging and pollute rivers? Who steal? It’s certainly not society as an amorphous group but individuals who are godless, most of whom do these for sordid money.

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How about troubled couples who do not have the benefit of joining a Marriage Encounter seminar? Couples can follow the ME way of talking out their differences and problems in a calm and non-judgmental way; in short, DIALOGUE.

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If it’s difficult for couples to do this, they can consult a marriage counselor, a priest, or a third party with whom they feel comfortable. Couples should do everything to save a seemingly hopeless marriage. They should not let their marriages happen but MAKE them happen.

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ST. JUDE. Tomorrow, Thursday, experience the powerful intercession of St. Jude Thaddeus. Join us in the novena to St. Jude, the Saint of the Impossible, at the Divine Word Shrine, Christ the King Seminary Compound, on E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City, after the 6 p.m. Mass. A healing pray-over will follow.