Pre-Cana Partay
Getting married in the Catholic Church isn’t quite as simple as impulsively buying a marriage license in Vegas and saying your vows in front of a white-jumpsuited Elvis (so I’m pretty sure Britney is not Catholic). Like all good things in the Church, a Catholic marriage requires a little work and suffering… so you know it’s good.
I wrote about the FOCCUS and some other Catholic shenanigans back in May, and that’s the last time I did anything to prepare for our rapidly approaching church wedding. When I talked to Brian today, he said, “Hey, you know that pre-cana thing? Yeah, we should probably do that…” This is why I keep him around. Registering for a pre-cana class has been on my to-do list for a few months, along with seeing a dentist, finishing “Eat, Pray, Love” and cleaning out my Gmail inbox.
For you non-Catholics, pre-cana is a course couples have to complete before getting hitched in the Church. Usually couples do it through six weeks of going to evening classes or a hardcore weekend retreat, but since Brian is in Iraq, our options are a little more limited. Luckily, in this beautiful world of the Interweb, there is actually an online pre-cana class! We’ll do the worksheets for each class topic “together” (via e-mail and Skype…how modern), submit them to our online instructor and get a certificate of completion when we’re all finished.
I like the idea of talking about important topics– religion, family, future offspring, history of mental illness– but I am wary of some random person “grading” our assignments. “Um, Gill, you got number 12 wrong. You said you don’t believe the man should make the final decisions in the household. The correct answer was actually, ‘Yes, Brian. I will always defer to your opinion. And go make you a sammich. Submissively.'” I could see this turning ugly. No, I’m really trying to stay positive and focus on how we can use this class to stay close while we’re apart (though I make no promises to curb my sass).
If anything, I did enjoy the images that went along with the registration page. So much that I took a few screen shots:
I wasn’t expecting so much nudity right off the bat, but hey, I’m not judging. I have a renewed resolve to work out before the wedding.
Our first lesson is titled “In the Beginning” and has the synopsis, “God’s Plan for man and woman, the origin of marriage and how sin distorted everything.” Sounds like a party– I’ll bring the cocktails!
9 comments
I don’t have any words for this besides: You have convinced me to get married in the Church.
ok, so I’m from a big italian catholic family … ONLY I wasn’t baptized because my mother was going through a hippie phase (HELLO! she almost named me Dominique).
innnywaz.
Last year I went through the classes to be baptized and my grandfather was my sponsor (he cried after I got dunked and told me it was one of the happiest days of his life – which made me feel better about having gotten my hair blown straight for my big spotlight jazz hands entrance into the Catolica Mundo only to discover my perfectly straight hair was about to be dunked in a hot tub in front of 500 people).
Where was I going with this?
uhm.
Oh yeah, GO Catholics.
crazy bastards ; )
Good for you, keep up the good work. Does this mean you’ll have 10 kids to send to catholic school and have their ears boxed by nuns?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Holy shit. I guess they’re trying to prepare for for the big day (night). Can I say that here?
L-Murda, you know you were going to anyway. I can see right through those baby Jesus comments.
Mimi, I am all kinds of impressed that you got baptized as an adult! I would be scared if people in white wanted to dunk me in a hot tub! (And if I have 10 kids, shoot me.)
Ide, aren’t those photos amazing? Just think: you and Josh can do this soon!
I love being Catholic. I’m so excited for you Gillie and I love this blog. It’s become a fixture on my bookmark bar at work.
Hahaha. The nudity, maybe, but I would never scar my godless better half with this level of sanctity.
Well, I must say that I was more than a little surprised about your sarcastic and biting remarks about question number 12, which I got right both times I took the course (once, before I was married, and once again because it was just so gosh darn fun). The man SHOULD make the decisions! Women’s minds are just not genetically disposed to decision making and, frankly, smaller. Of course, if there’s NO man in the house…..Hmmm….
So sit back, take a few valium, mix yourself a cocktail and just enjoy the lush life of no decisions until after mommy’s time. Because dodgeball time, is your time…..
Can you and Brian upload profile pics so it’s the two of you wearing fig leaves in the “Together” photos? That would be a great portrait for the Save the Date…or to hang above the fireplace in your first home.
What a great picture of the Pope. And Gill, if you have 10 kids, I’ll move to Sicily and become the Godfather of numbers’ 4, 7, and 9. The rest are on their own.