Couples Everywhere are On Fire for Christ

From the Celebrate Marriage Conference in Greenwood, IN to Marriage Retreat Night in Guilford, IN to the JPII Feast Day Celebration in Winona, and Made for Greatness Retreat in Fargo, ND everywhere Peter & Theresa Martin travelled—even in Lourdes, France!—people were amazed and inspired to hear about St. John Paul II's Rule. We had a chance to sit down with Theresa Martin and ask her about these blessed adventures. 

At the beginning of September, you and Peter spoke at the Celebrate Marriage Conference. What type of conference was this? 

Oh, yes! The Celebrate Marriage Conference was in Greenwood, IN, which is close to Indianapolis. It is a conference put on by the Celebrate Marriage Ministry, which was founded in 2011 and based within Our Lady of the Greenwood parish, but available to offer their services and tools to others to spur on marriage ministry within parishes.     

I have to tell you though, before we spoke at the conference, we met up with Leader Couples in that area. Because our Leader Couple Training is online, if it is ever possible to see Leader Couples in person, we make a point to do it! And what a blessing that was! We had dinner with Billy & Beth Carney and Brandon & Allison Seitz. Honestly, when I hugged Beth, I realized how precious our training course really is. That was the first time we had met in person, but we had so much history already and our hearts had already hugged. And those two couples were in the same mentorship training group, so they had already formed a friendship before meeting in person, too. It was so lovely!

The Celebrate Marriage conference, led by the dynamic duo Marcy and Tom Renken, was a lively and fun group! We sold out of our books and made many new friends, and met potential MCG members. We also had the great joy of hearing Daniel and Maria Cabrera speak. They are a prolife couple who have a beautiful online ministry in Spanish. As God would have it after much discernment, Maria will be helping with Spanish translation of The Rule! God also connected us with the lovely Mireya and Gustavo Ramirez, while we were there and they now will be our first Hispanic Leader Couple! So, it was a very blessed weekend! 

At the end of September, you went back to Indiana and spoke at All Saints Parish in Guilford. I heard you took the entire family with you, is that right? How was that experience? 

When God gave us this mission, He didn’t just give it to us but to our entire family. So, whenever we can, we try to bring along a couple kids to help on mission. They run the book table in the back and make people smile. This time we did bring along our whole gang! The pastor at All Saints, Fr. Jonathan Meyer, was a friend of ours from college years, and our children wanted to see him again. We drove through a crazy thunderstorm to get there, but God kept us safe (despite the winds pushing hard against our Ford Transit on the highways!). 

We also had the joy of meeting up with another WCI Leader Couple in person, Erin and Tim Rathman! They joined the retreat evening, driving in from Ohio. So wonderful to greet them in person! 

The talk was well received and so many couples wanting more for their marriage. My favorite part of giving a talk is listening to couples come and share their stories with us afterwards. We also met Fr. John Hollowell who we had just found out happened to be the chaplain assigned to our upcoming pilgrimage in a week! 

We took advantage of the long drive home and stopped at a friend’s for brunch and then went to visit another WCI Leader Couple, Jane and Tim O’Leary in Chicago. They invited our whole family to stay for a barbecue they were hosting! We got to meet their neighbors and a few of their daughters and their families. What a joy to connect in person with our family of families!   

That sounds amazing. You took your family to Lourdes, France next, but I think you are writing about that separately. 

Yes, you are right. That trip needed its own story. But it’s a great story of God’s love! So be sure to read it! What we didn't expect was that even on the pilgrimage we were asked to share about the vocation of marriage, and people are so excited to hear it!   

Actor and Director Jeremy Stanbary was your featured speaker at the St. John Paul II Feast Day Celebration in the Winona area this year. How did the celebration go? 

Jeremy was fantastic. The whole celebration went very well! Many families, so much to celebrate and rejoice over in this last year! Jeremy spoke about St. John Paul II’s Letter to Artists. He spoke about God as an artist and that each one of us actually in some way are an artist. His talk was very inspiring. And afterwards, he came to us explaining how he really hadn’t realized what this Rule was all about and how incredible this really is. It was well received all around.   

At the Made for Greatness Retreat in Fargo, this was the first time you led a 3-day retreat. What did you think of that? 

It was absolutely amazing. God does something in that sacred space of a retreat—and He works powerfully, if you let Him in. Peter & I are usually running the retreat as well as give the talks and this time, we did not have to coordinate the schedule. So, we were able to participate in a deeper way as well. There is a special prayer couples do on these retreats before the Blessed Sacrament, and you ask God to speak to you each in silence and then you share with each other what He said. There is something so affirming about hearing God speak the same thing to you both. It is profound. It grounds you in faith and lifts you high in joy. I think having the extra day really allows God to do what He needs to, and allows the couples to bask in His presence a little longer. It is not always possible to have a three day retreat, but when you can, I recommend it! We have one coming up at the end of February in Winona, you should come! Bishop Barron will be the Mass Celebrant for that one and what a special gift that will be! 

I have to ask, do these events ever exhaust you?  

Well, there is some physical fatigue with standing on your feet all day. Yet, the joy that is shared when we share St. John Paul II’s Rule and the excitement we hear in the responses of the couples who receive it, that makes it all worth it! Their excitement spurs on our passion and solidifies our conviction that this is so needed in the world. God saved this Rule for us to find when we did, because now is the time we need it the most.

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