Fifteen married couples explored the topic: "The founding charism of Équipes Notre-Dame as a signpost on the marriage path to salvation."
The Equipes Notre-Dame movement is a community of married couples bound by the conjugal sacrament. He helps married couples to live their sacrament fully, helps them meet "in the Name of Christ", so that they can better respond to His call and, through personal example, be witnesses of Christian marriage in the Church and in the world. Today, the Équipes Notre-Dame marital spirituality movement has spread to 90 countries around the world and has approximately 120,000 members. married couples. All Notre Dame teams around the world are united in the Magnificat prayed by couples every day.
On November 5-7 this year. 15 married couples explored the topic: "The founding charism of Équipes Notre-Dame as a signpost on the marriage path to salvation." The Founder, Fr. Henri Caffarela, who founded the Équipes Notre-Dam movement in 1939 with four married couples who wanted to live a Christian lifee. - The spouses loved Christ and each other, they felt that the sacrament was extremely important. Together with Father Caffarel, they developed the pedagogy and mysticism of the movement, and Father Founder emphasized that the spouses were to be seekers of God and discover the value of the sacrament of marriage. It all starts on the wedding day, but we celebrate the sacrament all our lives - say Małgorzata and Joachim Grzonków, who are happy about 42 years of living together. The founding charism is a signpost on the marriage path to salvation. It is not an idea, although it is very edifying - it is about the dynamism and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who will guide you throughout the entire period of development and will allow you to fulfill the mission - that is, helping married couples on their way to holiness and fully experiencing their sacrament of marriage.
For the spouses who took part in the retreat, time was spent on prayer, conferences and sharing in an atmosphere of closeness and joy. - I think joy comes from trying to keep Christ always at the center of our lives. Through the sacramental life, prayer, and concern for daily meditation on Sacred Scripture, Christ gives us strength. We are not afraid of various situations, we do not live in fear because we know that we are not alone. The closer we are to God, the more our marital love grows - Małgorzata and Joachim are sharing. - Pwe have lived through difficult situations, we are not perfect, but crises are there to grow. We feel that our love is deepened, beautiful and much more to come - says Mrs. Małgorzata. The spouses emphasize that it is important for them to be in the community. Couples belonging to the movement meet once a month at home, pray together and share the same aspirations and problems. They take part in a retreat once a year. - The movement points to the fact that each marriage finds its own way in the community and strives to build unity in the marriage, despite the diversity of each of them - they say.
Text and photos: Sanctuary Press Office
