FAQ
This sounds wonderful, but what are the time commitments? My family is already involved in so many different things.
One of the attractive aspects of Domestic Church is that couples only meet with their circles once a month. The real work is done in your home with your spouse and family.
Meetings don’t get us closer to God and one another; prayer, intentional use of our time, and the grace and mercy of God are what make the difference! We make progress in the spiritual life and in living the graces of the Sacrament of Marriage by practicing the commitments. The meetings give us accountability and support for this.
The only other time commitment is the yearly retreat. Domestic Church United States currently offers several kinds of marriage retreats, and several kinds of family retreats, throughout the year. In addition, there are occasional community gatherings for the sake of fellowship and information; these are not obligatory, but they are wonderful!
How does a couple take advantage of Domestic Church formation? How do you start?
The normal way a couple starts is by attending an Evangelization Retreat. That’s the first step.
The most common format is a four-day marriage retreat (from Thursday evening to Sunday at noon). Contact your local Diocesan Couple for Domestic Church to ask about alternative formats for the Evangelization Retreat that may be available in your area. The dates and locations of our retreats can be found on the Retreats page.
However, if you do not have Domestic Church in your diocese, and you have a group of couples who want to get started, a retreat can be planned in your area. Contact us using the form to the left to get more information about putting on a retreat in your area!
At what age are we too old, or too young, to join Domestic Church?
Married couples of all ages are deeply affected and grateful for the gifts received through Domestic Church formation. We have newlyweds in their early 20’s on up to couples in their 70’s–and everything in between. There are couples with young children, those with children out of the home, and those with no children. Circles are often a mixture of married couples in different seasons of life.
Getting a priest to commit to joining a circle seems like it would be difficult. Is it really possible to have a priest in every circle?
We have found that once priests see what Domestic Church is about, and that their role is one of presence and fatherly guidance rather than full-on leadership, it becomes much more attractive. Their testimonies have indicated that they particularly enjoy the circle meetings because they don’t have to prepare anything, that they get deep insight into marriage and the spiritual growth of families that they wouldn’t otherwise get, and that they enjoy the deep relationships with the couples in their circle.
"Paula and I have been married for over 36 years. Way back in the day we participated in Marriage Encounter for close to 10 years. It was a very good and useful skill to help with the communication part of our marriage. Domestic Church was and is a different experience. It brings God into our marriage. It teaches us a way to lead a marriage. Marriages will fail if God is NOT involved. DC gives us an agenda to follow and even has steps to help hold us accountable to God, each other, our family, and community. As an older couple, it is always exciting to learn something new and keep our marriage new, fresh, happy, and closer to GOD and each other! All couples should experience Domestic Church! Thanks and Prayers to God to Help Our Marriages Grow more Saints!"
