The Willwoods Community Faith & Marriage Ministry is dedicated to assisting the enrichment of the Sacramentality of marriage to married couples.

We offer the following three programs:

Our Married Couple retreats are a great opportunity for married couples to break away from the struggles and tasks that we all encounter daily and spend time rejuvenating and enriching their marriage.

• Retreats are held at the St. Joseph Abbey Christian Life Center and begin Saturday morning and ends Sunday after lunch.
• There are no fees; the program operates through the donations of the guests. Those who are able to give more than the expenses involved, please do so. Those of more limited means may give what they can. Suggested donation is $220 per couple. Pre-registration deposit is $50. (Cost should not be an issue)
• The retreat program is not designed for seriously hurting marriages.
• For registration please contact Jason Angelette at (504) 830-3716.

For your Parish:

• Parish Sponsorship or Co-Sponder a Married Couples Retreat at the St. Joseph Abby:
• Parish Sponsorship provides your parish with the opportunity to have a well-organized and spirit-filled retreat for your married parishioners with very little work on your part.
• In Parish One Day Married Couples Retreat:
  • Let us help you plan, set up and offer a one day in parish married couples retreat.

Please help us by:

• Announcing events in your Bulletins
• Mentioning to your married couples the retreat program
• Displaying retreat brochures for your parish

• Resources Online
• Supper & Substance Manuals
• Parish Grants Forms
  • We have six $150.00 grants to handout this year.
• Workshops on Supper & Substance
  • We offer workshops to help parishes incorporate S&S into parishes or to help strengthen their current S&S program.
• Presentation will include: program history, personal experience, walk through of our new manuals, benefits/fruits of the program, etc

For your Parish:

• The Faith & Marriage Ministry offers various types of presentations each formatted to provide witness and catechesis to the truth of God’s awesome plan for marriage. Our goal is to provide an in-depth look at the truth of who we are in Christ and the steps toward a joy-filled marriage. We hope to combat the lies that are tearing marriages apart and foster an authentic growth in society.
• These presentations are designed for married couples and will focus on the Church’s rich teaching on marriage, particularly through the works of Pope John Paul II. The content will address the following:
  • A proper anthropology rooted in Christ
  • The purpose and meaning of marriage
  • The truth of love, the role of chastity in marriage, and the responsibility of a married person in the world.
  • How to strengthen married couples in their love and their commitment to God and each other.

• Different Formats for the Presentations:
• A “ Faith & Marriage Talk” is an hour to two-hour presentation devoted to a particular topic on marriage. Talks can be given as a stand-alone presentation or offered in a series. Click here for a sample flier of a past talk.
• A “ Faith & Marriage Seminar” is broken down into four lectures, forty minutes each, followed by a Q&A session.
• A “ Faith & Marriage Workshop” is like a mini retreat where married couples will have the great opportunity to reflect individually and as a couple on the content being presented. It is encouraged to incorporate in the workshop Reconciliation, Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration.

• There are no fees for these presentations. Parishes that are able to give a donation or who are willing to collect a free-will donation at the end of the presentations are welcomed to do so. Suggested donation for a talk is $200 and $500 for a Seminar or Workshop.