What is ‘Love & Truth’?

Love & Truth is a worldwide outreach of the Emmanuel Community for couples seeking to grow in their Christian vocation to marriage. The outreach takes the form of various events designed for men and women of all ages to receive practical and spiritual formation from others walking the same journey as them. This formation is commonly accompanied by opportunities for prayer, reflection, socialising and one-on-one couple time. In Australia, Love & Truth events take the form of either an evening, an all-day retreat, or a weekend retreat.

This beautiful icon depicting the wedding feast at Cana was used very artfully during the Love & Truth retreat as an aid in explaining the meaning of the sacrament of marriage.

On May 7 of this year, an all-day Love & Truth retreat for both married and engaged couples was held at Mt. Carmel Retreat Centre in Varroville, Sydney. The theme was ‘Together We are Called’, and around 15 couples attended, including two engaged couples. Below are some testimonies from participants.

Carmel and Tim:

We attended a few Love & Truth evenings in the past and found them very valuable. They provided us an opportunity to spend quality couple time away from all the distractions. The all-day retreat, ‘Together We Are Called’, was very rewarding for this reason and more. Despite being a little apprehensive as we did not know what to expect, we came away enriched by the experience. The day included personal and couple quiet-time and prayer. We found listening to other couples’ experiences insightful, relevant, and edifying, as were the talks – on the Wedding at Cana passage and the understanding of marriage as a sacrament – and times of sharing with other attendees. We found it very valuable, listening to others couples’ points of view on relevant issues in marriage. Having meals together was a great opportunity to socialise with others.

Rebecca:

The Love & Truth retreat day offered the perfect balance of formation and practical guidance in how to live a faithful and fruitful marriage within the Catholic tradition. My fiancé and I both received an abundance of wisdom from the teachings, which were beautifully complemented with times of prayer, Mass and personal conversation. As an engaged couple, it was enriching and inspiring to be surrounded by so many exceptional couples actively striving to live out authentic Catholic marriages. The retreat enhanced our understanding of each other and what we are called to live out as spouses. This was our first time attending a Love & Truth event and we look forward to continuing to grow in our marriage journey through similar events in the future.

The next Love & Truth event in Sydney will be a weekend retreat on November 19 and 20, 2022. More details to come.

Posts to read

School of Prayer in the Catholic Weekly

Every first Friday of the month, the Emmanuel Community facilitates a School of Prayer at St. Peter Chanel in Berala. This has been featured in the Catholic Weekly. You can read the article here: https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/back-to-basics-berala-revives-first-fridays-devotions

Emmanuel Community facilitates parish Mercy Night

On 14 March 2024, the Emmanuel Community was invited by the parish of St Patrick’s in Sutherland to facilitate a Mercy Night. The evening captured the hearts of the local parishioners. There were over 100 people that attended the event.