Domestic Church

          It's been said that being a member of Domestic Church is "just being Catholic!" What makes the formation of Domestic Church so attractive is that it is not a novel approach to the faith or a vision of Catholicism limited to a founder's particular spirituality, but simply a way to access the treasures of the Church's teachings on marriage, family life, prayer, Scripture, the Sacraments, etc. as a spouse and a parent, specifically utilizing the grace of the Sacrament of Matrimony to do so. 

           Each couple in Domestic Church starts off by attending an Evangelization Retreat,  which allows them to experience the Good News in a new and deeper way, a real experience of the saving power of Christ as a couple. After the retreat, the couple has an opportunity to join a circle of 4-7 other couples and a priest. 

           Each circle meets once a month to share the joys and sorrows of the journey, to pray together, to go over their progress in spiritual growth according to the 7 promises, and go over the new formation materials for the month.

The seven promises consist of:
1.      Daily individual prayer
2.      Daily study of Scripture
3.      Daily couple prayer
4.      Daily family prayer
5.      Monthly couple dialogue
6.      Rule of life
7.      Yearly retreat 

          The beauty of these "promises," or commitments, is that they aren't specific prayers that a member commits to pray as individual, as a couple, or with their family, but the movement provides formation, using the Church's spiritual tradition and official teachings, in how to pray, how to use Scripture in prayer, and how to grow in a real relationship with God, our spouses, and our children.

          After joining a circle, a couple has nine months to decide if they will commit to continued formation, and another two years or so before they become a fully functioning member of Domestic Church, all of which build toward giving back to the parish what the Holy Spirit has grown in each couple during those first few years. This process follows the Church's vision of Catechesis for adults.

Domestic Church, a lay movement which started in Poland with the help and support of St. John Paul II, provides life-long formation for Sacramentally married couples for growing in holiness together as a couple. The goal is to provide access to the rich spiritual tradition of the Church in ways that are specific to the married state. Domestic Church provides couples with formation for taking advantage of the basic spiritual practices that married people expect to be able to accomplish on a daily basis but rarely find the time to, like couple prayer, praying with Scripture, family prayer, individual prayer, meaningful dialogue with their spouses, etc. So, though these are nothing new, couples who desire to be companions on the spiritual journey often find it more difficult than they initially expect and appreciate the solid help taken directly from the teachings of the Church. 

Couples who choose to take advantage of Domestic Church attend an introductory retreat, then join a circle of 4-7 couples and a priest. They meet once a month with their circle in the homes of the couples to pray, discuss the fruits and difficulties of their spiritual journey, and go over new formation materials.  

There are currently more than 100 couples involved in Domestic Church in Louisiana, which is the first English-speaking Domestic Church community in the world, though there are close to 20,000 couples in other countries who have enjoyed the beautiful fruits of the movement in their marriage for more than 40 years.

For more information on Domestic Church, including upcoming retreats, please visit www.domesticchurchfamilies.com or contact the local coordinators,    David and Kate Dawson, 504-206-8957, [email protected]