“Marriage is a journey of faith”

National Marriage Day

National Marriage Day is celebrated annually on August 13.

Marriage Week

Marriage Week is celebrated annually.  For information and resources, please visit Marriage Australia.

Vocation of Marriage and Parenthood

The vocation to which every Christian person is called is the call to love. The call to love is ultimately what God asks from each of us. One way we can choose to live out our call to love is through the vocation of marriage.

Preparing for a Catholic Marriage

Please contact your local parish priest for specific details. Usually Catholics are requested to give the officiating priest at least six months’ notice of their intention to marry. While one month’s notice is obligatory by law, the advanced notice requested allows time for serious marriage preparation.

Documents Required for Marriage in the Catholic Church

The Notification of Intention to Marry Form, available from your parish priest, must be signed no more than three months and no less than one month prior to the wedding day.

Marriage Preparation

Engaged to be Married? Congratulations! This is a special time as you prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage.

Catholic Marriage is a little different to civil marriage. It is meant to be a sign of the love God has for each of us. Therefore, Catholic marriage has the same qualities as God’s love; freely given, total, faithful and fruitful.  It’s not always easy to love like God – as human beings we are limited and sometimes selfish making it hard for us to love perfectly. Although loving each other might seem easy to you now, your love will likely be tested in the future by the challenges of life.

Couples marrying in the diocese are encouraged to attend a Catholic marriage preparation course. This is to ensure that they have understood and agreed to the solemn promises that they will both be making before God, and to equip them to grow in their love and commitment to each other in spite of challenges they may encounter.  Parish priests will have information on pre-marriage education or the following are options.

CatholicCare Ballarat Family Relationship Centre (FRC) pre-marriage and relationship courses:

• Partnerships:  A pre-marriage education program for couples to reflect on their relationship;
• FOCUSS:  A one-on-one pre-marriage education program for couples to reflect on their relationship in a private, confidential setting.

SmartLoving Engaged: Online Marriage Preparation – Consisting of nine lessons, you progress through the course at your own pace, doing the couple activities as you go. There is an option for a married Sponsor Couple from your community to accompany you through the course.

Marriage Formation 

Your marriage is a living thing. It needs nourishment if it is to grow and develop over your lifetime. No matter how many years you’ve been married, there’s always something new to discover! Below are some suggestions for you to explore:

SmartLoving Newlywed Date Nites – Starting out in marriage is an exciting time. It’s also a critical time for establishing rituals and habits that will become the bedrock of a thriving relationship. Newlywed Date Nites will help you do just that!  For a 50% discount, use coupon code: BallaratAU

SmartLoving The Marriage Kit – Investing in your marriage is a life-long commitment. Now, it’s easier than ever to access world-class marriage formation from your home that is practical and engaging. This online course of five lessons is tailored to couples seeking a lasting, passionate relationship.  For a 50% discount, use coupon code: BallaratAU

Marriage Assistance

All marriages go through ups and downs. Sometimes, it can be very lonely in a marriage and you might be feeling anxious or uncertain about what you can do to get your relationship back on track. Whether your difficulties relate to communication, conflict, addictions, sickness or infidelity we encourage you to explore the resources available to you below.

CatholicCare Victoria Family Relationship Centre offers assistance with marriages/relationships.  Counsellors are from various cultural backgrounds, genders and religions, so that you can find the right support.

Other services offered by CatholicCare Victoria Family Relationship Centre include:

• Family Dispute Resolution;
• Family Preservation and Reunification Response;
• Family Services;
• Family Wellbeing Support Service;
• Regional Parenting Program;
• School Counselling & Chaplaincy;
• Property Dispute Resolution;
• ParentsNext;
• Victims Assistance Program;
• Youth Justice.

SmartLoving SOS is a free information centre listing resources available to Catholic couples and spouses struggling in their marriage. This includes online courses, tele-counselling services, books, blogs and videos and features specialist services for infidelity, mid-life crises, trauma effects, addictions and others. It is updated regularly.  For a 50% discount, use coupon code: BallaratAU

SmartLoving BreakThrough provides spouses in difficult marriages powerful tools to bring hope and healing to their situations through an online course and optional coaching.  For a 50% discount, use coupon code: BallaratAU

Marriage Tribunal Information

Resources for Family Life

Following the publication of The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia), the Archdiocese of Melbourne provide the following resources for use in parishes, schools, movements and groups:

• Walking With Families – Pope Francis and the Art of Accompaniment;
• Living Icons – Mothers, Fathers and the Gospel of the Family;
• Family, food, faith.

Looking for more information on Natural Family Planning?

“Totally Yours: The Catholic Natural Family Planning Handbook” is a down-to-earth and practical book that uses real-life stories and experiences of over twenty couples to demystify natural family planning (NFP). With a healthy dose of humor, a firm grounding in Catholic moral teaching and evidence from scientific literature, this book focuses on twelve things everyone should know about NFP.  From the reluctant reader to the seasoned NFP user, this book is a worthwhile read for engaged couples, married couples, clergy and anyone looking for easy-to-understand information on NFP.  The book has been granted a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur and can be purchased from Amazon.

Infertility Support

Struggling with infertility, subfertility and miscarriage is a great burden for couples, especially when they so deeply desire to live out their vocation to welcome the gift of children from God. All may seem hopeless. In moments such as these, remember that despite infertility, couples can have a married life that is filled with love and meaning.

NaProTechnology – Fertility Care and NaProTechnology offer a minimally invasive, ethical approach to the assessment and treatment of infertility.