By Jennifer Mauro | Associate Editor
Couples seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus together are encouraged to attend an evening of music and discussion to discover, as Father James Grogan calls it, “the extraordinary power of two hearts praying as one.”
“Prayer has many varieties, and committed individuals can, and often do, invest time and energy into discovering how to advance their prayer lives,” said Father Grogan, parochial vicar in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown.
“It makes sense, then, to reflect on both the value and the opportunities that couples have to pray together. Furthermore, because of the unique aspects of the relationship married couples experience, their choice to pray together is also tangibly different from ‘communal prayer,’ where dozens of perhaps hundreds of people are joined in prayer,” he said.
Father Grogan will be the guest speaker for “Praying the Eucharist as a Couple,” a program being sponsored by the marriage ministry team of Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish, Hamilton. The event, titled “An Evening of Recollection for Engaged and Married Couples,” will be held at 7 p.m. April 28 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 3816 E. State St., Hamilton.
Father Grogan, a widower and father of three adult sons, is no stranger to marriage ministry around the Diocese, which is one reason why Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish wanted him to speak, said Barbara Dohrenwend of the parish ministry team.
Father Grogan will include scriptural readings and lecture accompanied by music during the evening presentation. Dohrenwend said the team was impressed with Father Grogan’s custom of using guitar and song to enrich the message that marriage is elevated through the Eucharist.
For more information or to register for the event, contact Dohrenwend at 609-587-0759 or dohrenwe@optonline.net.
“Every couple who approach or enter into the Sacrament of Matrimony deserve, and ought to strive for, an ‘extraordinary marriage,’” Father Grogan said. “One key that can help a couple achieve extraordinary is how they intentionally choose to pray together.”