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Smitten by the Bug

Fr. Greg Boisvert

(Excerpted from Winter 1994 Matrimony magazine)

God called me to the ministry of Marriage Encounter in 1979, a call which has left its permanent markings on me, for which I shall always be most grateful and which will accompany me through eternity.

In those fourteen years, I have been singularly privileged to make three or four deeper Weekends and to take part as the presenting priest on sixty-three others, the most recent in my own Knoxville, Tennessee area, the last weekend of August. (Our bishop made the weekend with a priest-friend of his and has since referred to it as a glorious and inspiring experience.)

Through all this time I had never gone to a Marriage Encounter convention. I deemed that the limited amount of time that I could give to the ministry, away from my parish, was better dedicated to presenting weekends. What blinders I was wearing! How narrow-minded of me! I was forgetting the support that I can give others and especially the support that I need from others.

So I went to my first Marriage Encounter convention. I caught the bug! I'll be going again. This was the twenty-fifty anniversary convention, with participants from many countries: strong delegations from Mexico, Canada and Korea amongst others. It was an amalgam of relationship deepening, celebration and prayerful thanksgiving.

One of my great joys was meeting up with couples with whom l had presented a Weekend here or there, most of whom I had not seen since: Tom & Cindy from Jackson, TN: Bill & Eileen from Atlanta; Mike & Mijong from San Diego; Bill & Susan from St. Augustine; Roger & Cheryl from Asheville; Fred & Susie from Tampa; John & Hilda from the Bahamas; Larry & Hermie from Coral Springs; Ron & Toni from Miami. These people are all very, very dear to me. It was so heartwarming to be with them again. All three presenting priests from Tennessee were there... and all of our Marriage Encounter friends were in our hearts.

There was a special day for priests, before the start of the general convention. My love for you grew some more. The emphasis was on priest-couple relationships together. I returned with the idea that I would trialogue with one of our couples on a weekly basis (which we have joyously implemented since).

Saturday night was a grand old party, some 7,500 people all whooping it up in the Athletic Center. Songs led by a group: in English, French, Spanish, and Korean. Impossible Dream sung by all. -- A skit with Aldonza (later transformed into Dulcinea) and Don Quixote. – A parade of nations; 87 flags of the 91 countries to which Marriage Encounter has now spread, triumphantly carried in and placed on the stage. What a colorful background for the altar on the morrow!

After two morning presentations, Sunday's Eucharist, a celebration of thanksgiving in the fullest sense of the word! Grandiose setting. Blaring musical horns. Seventy-five hundred singing voices. General intercessions in four different languages. Five bishops and 300 priests.

I don't think I had ever experienced such an emotional moment. The priests were vesting in a removed corner of the Center. Then we started coming in; two-by-two. The crowd exploded! The cheers wild! The applause deafening! All arms were extended waving the sign-language of love. (I am still overcome; tears are welling in my eyes as I write this.) It went on and on. Three hundred priests coming in two-by-two takes a long time. No let-up. We priests responding in kind, waving in turn, acknowledging and accepting your love. Then, after the five bishops were on stage at the altar, the chant spreading across the floor and through the bleachers: "We love you. We love you."

I know you love me. You keep showing it to me in so many different ways. But thousands of you bellowing it at me at the same time! It was humbling. It was great. I thank you.

I've been smitten by the bug. It was my first convention. They come once a year. There will be more. Whatever support I was able to provide the couples and my priest-colleagues by my presence, hurray for that. But the support you provided me, the loving energy you imparted to me, the desire you inflamed in me to draw nearer to you -- if not by your individual presence by your vicarious presence of couples like you -- you will never fully realize. It was so short-sighted of me to think that Weekends alone were enough of a contribution.

I can't go it alone. You can't go it alone. Support. Support. Support. We need it. We need to provide it. We enjoy it. We are strengthened by it.

May I suggest you be open to the possibility of taking in next year's Marriage Encounter Convention in your section! Start planning now to make it part of your vacation. It's a fantastic experience!

Dialogue Questions:
Do I see a Marriage Encounter Convention as a way to renew our relationship? How do I feel about my answer?
Do I see our relationship as helping to change the world to be a better place? How do I feel about that?
Do I see the Marriage Encounter family as an extension of our own family? How do I feel about my answer?
Do I see the Marriage Encounter family as a part of our church family? How do I feel about my answer?
How do I feel about going to the next Marriage Encounter Convention with you?

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