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Catholic Marriage Centre
Tony Dady brings us up to date with the work at the Oasis of Peace in Porthmadog in Wales
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We felt there was a vacuum between the national marriage counselling services on the one hand and the occasional marriage enrichment courses on the other, and wanted to provide somewhere where people could come and stay. And so two years later we set up the Catholic Centre for the Healing of Marriage, a residential centre to provide support for marriages under pressure. Here we offered a blend of teaching, workshops. Catholic Christian counselling and healing prayer and as time went on we developed a variety of weekly courses which we presented on an on-going basis. Now ten years on, we can look back in thanksgiving, on the many hundreds of couples who have passed through our doors and received the Lord's healing in their married relationship, some even going into ministry themselves. Over this period, the centre has never been really financially viable and it survives on the abundant generosity of those who feel called to support our work. Living on God's providence in this way can be both exciting and frightening, but always rewarding. Developments have inevitably taken place over the years, without detracting from the original vision. The buildings themselves have been extended to include counselling rooms and a library, together with an oratory containing the Blessed Sacrament. Courses for marriage preparation have been introduced and the need for qualifications in premarital counselling recognised and met. The teachings need ongoing revision, in both content and presentation, as experience dictates. The diversity and richness of John Paul II's teaching on marriage, love and sexuality has presented a challenge to keep the teachings in line with the Church's development of theology in these areas. Therefore where appropriate, the teachings now include his exciting and beautiful "theology of the body". Teaching and counselling has not always been restricted to the Centre itself, and outreach to other parts of the UK has been happening since the beginning. There has been ongoing outreach to Scotland and Malta. Recently we were invited to lead a charismatic weekend meeting to launch a vision to "re-Christianise marriage" in Malta, our tenth visit to the island. Although the centre has always been open to all Christians, it has been a surprise to us that almost 40% of those who come on the courses are not Catholics. We have certainly gained a lot from the intimate ecumenical situation this creates. In the light of the more varied and comprehensive nature of this ministry to marriage, that has developed over the years, we recently felt drawn by prayer and discernment to change our name from the Catholic Centre for the Healing of Marriage, to become simply the Catholic Marriage Centre, as this more accurately reflects our activities. For further details of courses visit their website at www.catholicmarriagecentre.org.uk
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Is
there a place that we can send couples to where they're not just going
to get psychology and therapeutic advice - which is necessary also
- but from a Catholic and Christian perspective, that's solely dedicated
to the saving of Catholic and Christian marriages?" These words
spoken by Fr Pat Lynch of the Sion community to a conference in Birmingham
in 1990 fanned into flame a desire in the heart of my wife and I to
respond to this need. 
