New marriage program 'lays the foundations'

BOSTON -- Pauline Books and Media announced, July 31, the release of a new Catholic marriage preparation initiative developed in the Archdiocese of Boston.

The program, entitled "Transformed in Love: Building Your Catholic Marriage," operating under Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley's initiative to strengthen the vocation of marriage not only in the archdiocese but also in the wider Church, is intended to help couples build a loving and lasting marriage amid today's cultural attitudes toward marriage and family life.

"Developed under the direction of His Eminence, Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston, 'Transformed in Love' is a doctrinally sound, practical approach to preparing couples to receive the sacrament of marriage. The program was the fruit of many years of collaboration by priests, deacons, theologians, religious sisters, psychologists, and married couples working under the guidance of Mrs. Kari Colella, Director for Marriage and Family Life in the Archdiocese," a statement from the archdiocese said.

According to a press release "Transformed in Love" is the end product of over six years of collaboration among bishop, judicial vicar, canon lawyers, theologians, psychologists, priests, deacons, religious sisters, and married couples with three years of field-testing.

The program consists of a manual for leaders and teams running the program, with a DVD of presentation material, and a workbook for engaged couples.

"Its 'teach-out-of-the-box' nature, flexible session options, and diversified methods to engage couples make running the program easy," a press release from Pauline Books and Media said.

The program uses the idea of building a house as a metaphor to combine faith formation and human formation.

The metaphor "helps couples lay the foundations and create a blueprint for living out their marriage with faith and practicality."

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Ft. Wayne-South Bend and chair of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth praised the program for the "way in which it considers important issues like communication, finances, and sexuality in the broader and deeper context of virtue, liturgy, and spirituality."

For more information, please visit www.transformedinlove.com or contact Ariana Tantillo, marketing associate and copywriter, at 617-676-4490 ext. 4179 or atantillo@paulinemedia.com. To purchase "Transformed in Love," please call 800-876-4463. Pauline Books and Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international Congregation of women religious whose mission is evangelization through the means of social communication. They operate thirteen retail book centers in North America and a publishing and distribution facility in Boston, Massachusetts.