How it all started
Movement for Marriage Enrichment or MME was conceived during the early part of 1992 as an apostolic movement of the Church. It is designed to look after the spiritual, moral and temporal needs of the Filipino community within the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Toronto. The Filipino Chaplaincy of the Archdiocese of Toronto approved the MME as a lay movement of Filipino couples married in the Catholic Church. It is committed in self renewal to enrich marriage and family relationship. It is also registered and in full correspondence with the Office of Family Life of same archdiocese. Rev. Fr. Tony Pablo was appointed the Spiritual Director of the Movement. Rev. Fr. Albert Macalipay is at present the Spiritual Director since he took over in 1996.
Its goals are:
· To enrich and nurture relationship of couples and their families through deepened understanding the Sacrament of Marriage;
· To enrich the spiritual life of couples by sharing God’s love with other couples, by spreading apostolic works, and by setting good examples;
· To strengthen couple’s relationship through a support group.
It is not geared for problematic relationship and was never meant to solve conflicts within seriously deteriorating marriages. The program is intended to enrich normal, healthy marriages by offering couples the insights, the tools and the confidence to strengthen their love for one another.
“The strength of a man consists in finding out the way God is going, and going that way”. To paraphrase, “The strength of a Movement is finding out God’s way and going that way”. The voyage of the Movement started not with smooth sailing. This was hurdled by the core of supporters through their commitment and strong belief to the objectives of the Movement.
On December, 1992, Class No. 1 proceeded despite adverse weather conditions. Subsequent
weekends were not without pitfalls – financial resources, venue, couple candidates, clergy, even
dissension within the core of supporters, etc. All these gave way in furthering the strength of
the Movement in persevering, in finding out God’s way – and going that way.
The Movement is gradually accomplishing its mission and goals. As Spiritual Director, Fr. Albert has been providing guidance, advice and assistance for the spiritual nourishment of MME members. Fund raising activities are also being undertaken regularly to meet the financial needs of the movement.
Crystal Gazing – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Experiences of Yesterday gave way to inner strength, surrender and total trust in God. Today, the Movement takes pride in the products of these weekends who have unselfishly shared their talents, committed manpower and financial resources, volunteered services, etc. in spreading this apostolate. Tomorrow, with the grace and help of God, we pray that more couples will be drawn to this apostolate for marriage enrichment and family relationship.
