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Forever Love: Ricardo Medina

Ricardo Medina understands the complexity of culture. In Houston and Galveston, with its 1.7 million Catholics, he knows that, even with countless cultures to minister to, an understanding of the love of Christ binds us together as a universal Church body.

In this final conversation of the bonus interview series of the Marriage Catechumenate Summit, we focus on the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Darnell Miller, Creative Director of MAX Studios, sits down with Ricardo Medina, Director of the Office of Family Life for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. They discuss the vast number of cultural groups in Houston, how Ricardo believes that simple works of mercy will engage people in Church life more profoundly, and the value of family life as the place where faith becomes real.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

Office of Family Life | Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Forever Love: Dr. Ellen Roderick

Expression of your Catholic faith in Canada is very different from the United States. Dr. Ellen Roderick and her team meet these opportunities for evangelization with openness, hospitality and love.

In this interview, MAX Studios Creative Director Darnell Miller sits down with Dr. Ellen Roderick, Co-Director of the Diocesan Centre for Marriage, Life and Family in the Archdiocese of Montreal in Canada. Dr. Roderick talks about the main differences in the Catholic landscape in Montreal and the U.S., how she and her team try to evangelization by being a welcoming presence to engaged couples, and how refreshing it was to meet other Catholic leaders in the marriage and family space at the Marriage Catechumenate Summit. Dr. Roderick also imparts how teaching the foundations of Christianity in marriage preparation is beneficial to couples wanting to understand more deeply about their Catholic faith.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

Diocesan Centre for Marriage, Life and Family at the Archdiocese of Montreal

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Forever Love: Fr. Victor Perez

Fr. Victor Perez's best dating advice - no matter the circumstances, love like Jesus Christ.

In this conversation, Darnell Miller, Creative Director of MAX Studios at University of St. Thomas-Houston, sits down with Fr. Victor Perez, Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Houston to talk about his parish. They discuss the unique cultures at St. Joseph and how they integrate marriage preparation and formation into everything they do. With a large young adult population who call St. Joseph home, Fr. Victor shares some thoughts on what he's seen with regard to dating and marriage.

Fr. Victor was a featured speaker at the Marriage Catechumenate Summit.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

St. Joseph Catholic Church

Witness to Love

Forever Love: Jake Samour

If you've experienced the gift of padrinos and madrinas, you'll enjoy this conversation.

Jake Samour, Director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life in the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, talks with Darnell Miller, Creative Director of MAX Studios at University of St. Thomas-Houston about his experience being mentored by others and leading people in marriage ministry.

Originally from El Salvador, Jake shares how the richness of Hispanic culture in the U.S. is already vibrant with Catholic tradition, but many faithful Catholics need to overcome "Juan Diego Syndrome" and recognize their call to lead. They also discuss Jake's reflections on meeting his wife and how he pays forward the mentorship he received from other people in the Church.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

Marriage and Family | Diocese of Wichita, Kansas

Catholic Diocese of Wichita, Kansas

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America

Forever Love: Sr. John Mary Sullivan

Sr. John Mary Sullivan witnessed the fullness of lived vocation through the marriage of her parents. It was their loving example that spurred in her a desire for religious life.

In this interview from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit in Houston, Texas, Darnell Miller, Creative Director of MAX Studios, sits down with Sr. John Mary Sullivan, Associate Director of Ministries and Outreach with the Archdiocese of Vancouver. They discuss the importance of accompaniment after couples are married and how the church can better assist couples in navigating that vocational call. Sr. John Mary also shares her vocation story and why it's important to leave the summit with practical steps to take home to her Archdiocese in Canada.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist

Archdiocese of Vancouver

Witness to Love

Forever Love: Sal and Josephine Caruso

Literally right before their flight, Sal and Josephine Caruso wanted to share about marriage in their area of San Jose, California. As advocates for marriage and family life, Josephine and Sal have seen firsthand what newly married couples need to thrive - they need to hear what they experience is normal and that marriage is incredible.

In this conversation, Josephine and Sal talk with Darnell Miller, Creative Director of MAX Studios at University of St. Thomas-Houston, about what the marriage landscape in California and what they thought about the summit overall. They share personal reflections and why it's important to reach out for newly married couples.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

Witness to Love

Diocese of San Jose

Forever Love: Sharon Goh

Forever Love: Julia Dezelski

From Julia Dezelski's vantage point, while the U.S. is very different state to state, the challenges and opportunities facing marriages are the same.

Julia Dezelski, Assistant Director for Marriage, Family and Laity at United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), sits down with Darnell Miller, Creative Director of MAX Studios at University of St. Thomas-Houston, to discuss the Marriage Catechumenate Summit and the state of marriage in the U.S. Julia shares how she thinks the foundation of revitalizing marriage in the U.S. begins with children and the family, and how the bishops support and challenge the laity to be advocates for this special vocation.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

 

USCCB COMMITTEE: Laity, Marriage, Family Life, & Youth

Called to the Joy of Love: National Pastoral Framework for Marriage and Family Life Ministry

Catechumenal Pathways for Married Life

Forever Love: J.P. DeGance

Studying the rise and fall of marriage in the U.S. has helped J.P. DeGance understand what is at the core of people leaving Christian churches.

MAX Studios Creative Director Darnell Miller talks with J.P. DeGance, author, researcher and President and Founder of Communio, about his findings from the Nationwide Study on Faith & Relationships and how we can do better to serve the loneliest people in church pews.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. This continues a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the Marriage Catechumenate Summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

J.P. DeGance

Communio

The Nationwide Study on Faith and Relationships

J.P. DeGance on Jacksonville’s Divorce Decline: 5 Questions With Family Studies

Forever Love: Bishop Brendan Cahill

Marriage enrichment encompasses more than just the couple - it's the whole family. Following an energetic small group discussion at the Marriage Catechumenate Summit, Bishop Brendan Cahill, in the Diocese of Victoria, TX, discusses how to evangelize the whole family.

This interview is bonus content from the Marriage Catechumenate Summit that took place at Circle Lake Retreat Center near Houston, Texas in June 2023. Bishop Cahill shares about the value of engaging young families and how it's important to take seriously the questions of young people, and even teaching them philosophy.

This is a part of a series of interviews with Catholic marriage experts in North America who attended the Marriage Catechumenate Summit. A mini-documentary of the summit will be released at the end of the interview series.

Bishop Brendan Cahill

Witness to Love

Preparing Missionary Disciples w/ Dave Plisky of DeSales Media | Understanding Our Apostolic Age

How do we prepare people to have the skills and confidence they need to be missionary disciples, share their faith and invite others into it too? That has been the focus of Dave Plisky and DeSales Media. So they put together a questionnaire and asked people to evaluate their preparedness and identify ways they would like to develop their missionary skills. In this conversation Dave and Darnell Miller, Creative Director of MAX Studios at the University of St. Thomas - Houston, sit down and discuss the findings of that report.

Learn more about DeSales Media and read their report.

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