Sacred Grace: A Step Toward Holiness in Marriage

On Saturday, June 14, 2025, the St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish Hall came alive with warmth, laughter, and the deep stirrings of commitment as 38 couples—diverse in age, background, and length of civil marriage—gathered for the Sacred Grace Marriage Integration Course. This full-day experience was part of the Church’s response to the call for family renewal during the Jubilee Year of Hope, under the ongoing Pastoral Renewal of the Diocese of Calgary.

​From 10 am to 5 pm, couples were immersed in sessions that invited them to rediscover the sacred beauty and spiritual richness of the Sacrament of Matrimony. Participants explored four major themes:
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• The Foundational Pillars of Marriage in the Church
• Understanding Each Other at a Deeper Level
• Going Beyond Differences to Build Authentic Marital Union
• Looking Ahead—Together, to Heaven

​More than just lectures, the course offered real moments of grace. Spouses shared personal reflections, engaged in heartfelt conversations, and took meaningful steps toward a renewed covenant—with one another and with God. It was a day marked by emotional depth, prayerful reflection, and mutual encouragement. 

Among the participants were the oldest couple at age 67, and a pair who have been civilly married for 27 years. With humility and tenderness, they joined others in lovingly revisiting their commitment to one another, now preparing to sanctify that bond through the Sacrament of Matrimony.

This course is not a standalone event—it is a gateway. All participating couples are now on a common path, eagerly anticipating their Church wedding during one of three upcoming Sacred Grace Wedding Masses this year: September 13, October 25, and November 8. Each of these Masses will be a profound celebration—not only of marital love but also of God’s grace alive in our midst, renewing the very foundation of family life in our parishes.
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A second offering of the Marriage Integration Course is scheduled for July 19, 2025, where another forty or so couples will revisit their own commitment to each other.

We invite all parishioners across the Diocese to keep these couples in your prayers—that their journey toward the Sacrament may be filled with grace, healing, and joyful anticipation. May our collective prayer sustain and bless them as they take this sacred step forward.

The primary purpose of marriage is not to make husband and wife happy, but to make them holy… a means of growing in virtue and helping each other on the path to heaven.” 

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Written by Deacon Greg Bercelon, Coordinator for Sacred Grace: Church Wedding for Civilly Married Couples.