The word Retrouvaille™ (pronounced re-tro-vi with a long i.) is a French word meaning rediscovery. The program offers tools needed to rediscover a loving marriage relationship. Thousands of couples headed for cold, unloving relationships or divorce have successfully overcome their marriage problems by attending the program. The Retrouvaille Program consists of a weekend experience combined with a series of 6-12 post-weekend sessions over 3 months. It provides the tools to help put your marriage in order again. The main emphasis of the program is on communication in marriage between husband and wife. It will give you the opportunity to rediscover each other and examine your lives together in a new and positive way.

What the Program is not
It is not a retreat, marriage counseling, or a sensitivity group. There are neither group dynamics nor group discussions on the weekend. It is not a time for hurting; it is a time for healing.

Who is it for?
It is for couples with marital problems including those who are considering marriage separation and those who are already separated or divorced that want marriage help. Some couples come to Retrouvaille during the initial signs of a marriage problem. Other couples are in a state of despair and hopelessness when they attend the program. These latter couples often consider the Retrouvaille program their final option. Many lawyers and judges send couples to Retrouvaille as a prerequisite to filing for a divorce or rendering final decisions. Many marriage counselors send their clients to Retrouvaille as a prerequisite to marriage counseling. These professionals know that the tools of communication in marriage taught in the program are often what couples need. For more information, please visit:  www.retrouvaille.org

What is Courage?
Courage is an international apostolate of the Catholic Church, which ministers to persons with same-sex attractions. In 1980, the late Cardinal Terrence Cooke served as a spiritual advisor to men and women with homosexual attractions, seeking to live the fullness of God’s plan for their lives—seeking to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Cardinal Cooke and Father John Harvey began forming groups— which they called “Courage”— of men and women with homosexual attractions, dedicated to chastity, prayer, friendship, and mutual support. There is also an outreach called “EnCourage”, which ministers to relatives, spouses, and friends of persons with same-sex attractions. Courage groups now meet across the globe, helping to form and support those Catholics with the courage to seek God’s grace, and to follow after the Gospel. We’re blessed, in the Archdiocese of Detroit, by the ministry of Courage. www.aod.org/being-catholic/marriage-and-family/courage-ministry

The Five Goals of Courage: 

1. To live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality. (Chastity) 
2. To dedicate our entire lives to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. (Prayer and Dedication) 
3. To foster a spirit of fellowship in which we may share with one another our thoughts and experiences, and so ensure that no one will have to face the problems of homosexuality alone. (Fellowship) 
4. To be mindful of the truth that chaste friendships are not only possible but also necessary in a chaste Christian life, and to encourage one another in forming and sustaining these friendships. (Support) 
5. To live lives that may serve as good examples to others. (Good Example/Role Model) 

For more information, please visit the Courage web site at www.couragerc.org  Also consider viewing the award-winning documentary Desire of the Everlasting Hills. Go to: www.everlastinghills.org

The Church should always be a place of welcome for those in need of healing, mercy, and courage. God’s plan—setting out into the deep—is the best possible plan for each one of us. And inviting married couples experiencing difficulties, and inviting men or women with same-sex attraction to know the meaning of the Gospel—and to experience healing, and be part of supportive and prayerful chaste communities—is a part of our Christian mission.

Let us pray, that those whose relationship is on a rocky ground, and those with same-sex attraction will have the courage to follow the Gospel, and to contact the community of Retrouvaille or Courage. And I also pray that each of us will have the courage to welcome, invite, and respect those who carry heavy burdens, and who are in need of the healing presence of Jesus Christ.