Marriage preparation provides a magnificent opportunity to evangelize and yet again, catechize the engaged couple, before they perhaps disappear into the background of married-life.  All dioceses and parishes offer a current marriage preparation program(s).  Research shows that the weakest link in all marriage preparation programs is the financial education, part of the program. 

The general approach is…  let’s talk about how much debt you have, how much money can be spent before we have to tell each other, should we use a budget, how much money should we give away and how should we save and or invest?  While these are all great questions and questions that should ultimately be known and answered.  What do any of these preparation questions and discussions have to do about one’s faith, and the importance that faith should play in one’s finances?  NOTHING!  They never have, and more importantly, they never will!

If you are involved in marriage preparation, you most likely take great care to influence the couples, to the best of your ability with top quality faith teachings, such as Theology of the Body and NFP, and perhaps other areas, then when it comes to teaching finances, a complete or near complete secular approach is often used.  In essence, the couples are learning to compartmentalize their faith.  They are learning that they can learn to live an authentic Catholic life, but when it comes to finances, that is the one area that there is no need to turn it over to God, and that is perfectly okay and acceptable.

As Catholics, we must ask ourselves, is this okay and acceptable?  Of course not!  We must do everything in our power to properly train and equip each and every couple for the joys, the challenges of marriage, just as Christ intended it. 

Instead of addressing only the secular life-style orientation aspect of money, one must also address the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects too.  The Faith Finances Marriage Preparation Program does exactly that!