The 7 Promises

Domestic Church Couples and Families strive to practice the "7 Promises" inorder to grow in their relationship with God and one another. The promises are basic principles of spiritual growth in the Catholic tradition specific to the vocation of marriage and family.  Each family practices the 7 promises in order to grow in their spiritual life according to their particular needs and contexts.    

1) Daily Individual Prayer: This is also called the "Tent of Meeting," referring to the tent that Moses would enter into outside the camp, to meet face to face with God. This commitment is to daily step outside of the activities of the day to a separate, quiet space to do nothing but enter into the presence of God.  This is absolutely necessary, though for many this can be quite difficult at first, especially since most of us assume we are doing this more often than we are and so are suprised by the real obstacles to daily prayer. When faithfully practiced, an intimate relationship with God soon begins to grow and regulalry entering into prayer becomes easier.  

2) Daily Study of Scripture: Again, in a quiet, separate space, the individual takes advantage of the gift of the living Word of God to commune with Him and to internalize what He reveals through the Holy Spirit during that time each day. The Church's teaching on Scripture, especially its use in prayer, is utilized here, especially the principles of Lectio Divina. There is no particular Scripture given to read and reflect on, just the challenge to dive into Scripture each day and grow in our ability to discover what God has for us there.

3) Daily Couple Prayer: The couple takes time each day to share intimate and open prayer, out loud and usually in their own words. Reciting prayers together (like the Rosary or Liturgy of the Hours) is extremely valuable, but it is not as intimate or unitive as allowing your spouse to witness your conversation with God. There is no length of time or other regulation set on this prayer, but formation focuses on overcoming the obstacles to making real, transparent, intimate couple prayer a daily habit.

4) Daily Family Prayer: Like the others, though simple, this is an activity that is often overlooked. The formation regarding family prayer  focuses on setting aside time each day, making sure each member is able to participate and benefit. The focus, again, is on spontaneous prayer, though structure, including some recited prayers, tends to help create tradition and expectations for the overall flow and its role in the daily routine. Each family will discover and grow in their own way of praying together, but suggestions are offered for how to make it fruitful for the different stages in a family's life (small children, older children, adult children, no children, etc.).

5) Monthly Couple Dialogue: Though a couple may communicate often, rarely do they take the time necessary to really dig into the deeper, underlying issues that are most important in their marriage, and if they do, it's usually unprepared, stressed, and without relying on the presence of God. Monthly couple dialogue is a three-way conversation between both spouses and God. It is a few hours of scheduled, uninterrupted time that a couple spends a few days ahead of time praying and preparing for so they may deepen their understanding of one another and of God's will for their lives. Though difficult, it quickly becomes one of the gifts couples most appreciate from being involved in Domestic Church.

6) Rule of Life: Particularly in connection with their monthly dialogues, each couple decides upon specific changes or policies they will put in place in their individual lives, their marriage, and their household that reflect God's will for them and their efforts to grow in holiness according to His promptings. At first, this can seem daunting, but very quickly, a couple begins to make very small, intentional changes that bring about big results. It can be surprising how making these decisions out loud and part of the official rule can ease a family's growth toward what they desire to accomplish.

7) Yearly Retreat: Each family commits to attending a Domestic Church retreat at least once a year. Many of these are family retreats, so the kids come, too! These can be longer retreats or weekend retreats. In Poland and most other parts of the world, the longer retreats (callled Oasis Retreats) usually last 15 days and provide for incredible growth and renewal for the whole family, more so than any vacation could.  In the U.S, we are only currently able to offer 8-day Oasis retreats, but they are in multiple locations throughout the country each year. (See Retreats page.) The theme of the retreats are based on the varying degrees of spiritual growth and build upon one another like rungs on a ladder.