Russell Bruce
September 22, 2009
Zenobia Barrow
September 24, 2009
The “I do’s” have been exchanged and the honeymoon is over, now couples have to focus on keeping their marriage strong and enduring the tough times.
Husband-and-wife team Kent and Coleen Mast have made it their mission to help equip couples with the tools they will need to understand, relate to and comfort their spouse through obstacles that typically arise in marriage.
The Masts, who’ve been married for 35 years, are teaming up to host a mini-marriage conference Oct 3 at Nicholls State University.
“We’ve struggled with a lot of things over the years,” admits Dr. Coleen Mast. “We have had challenges at every stage of our marriage. The reality of it is that we presevered through the struggles and God’s grace works. If you stay close to God, you can see Him at work, whether you think you have the skills to keep your marriage together or not.
“Just work on the skills and let His grace do the rest,” she advises others.
The focus of the conference is “Never Leave Your Partner Behind.” It’s a different adaptation from the American Christian film “Fireproof,” which gave audiences a glimpse into the marriages of everyday people. The film also attempted to explore the trials and tribulations people go through to keep their marriage together with God’s grace.
The film premiered worldwide in 2008. Since then, several Catholic organizations, including the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, have endorsed the film.
“If the relationship within a marriage is strong and God-centered, then the family will be headed in the right direction,” Bishop Sam Jacobs, the Diocese’s director, said in a release. “If family is the foundation of society, then husbands and wives are the heart of the family.
“Today couples need to be supported and strengthened in their relationships so that the fundamental desires – love and union – that brought them together in the first place may be fulfilled in a greater way,” he added.
The Masts will deliver a two-part presentation: “What are the seven needs of a highly effective marriage?” and “What are the four levels of happiness and how do they work in a marriage?”
“We’ve been involved with family life, chastity and character education since back in 1983,” said Kent Mast, president of Respect Incorporated, an organization that explains the positive aspects of being abstinent.
“Our presentation is kind of a compilation of what we have experienced over the years, be it in our own marriage or the marriages of the couples we see through given talks and meeting people all over the world,” Kent Mast explained. “We try to instill those things to make marriages better and to put (couples) on a path of having a more positive relationship with their spouse.”
The conference is sponsored by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s Office of Family Ministries and Conference Office.
Family Ministries Director Catherine Klingman said this is the third couple’s conference the Diocese has sponsored.
“It’s a time for couples to get together with other couples, renew their commitment to each other and renew their vows or reconnect on a different level than before,” she said. “Catholics believe that marriage takes three: the husband, the wife and God. With God’s presence, we welcome the sacrament of matrimony. To us marriage is more than a contract, it’s a covenant.”
Klingman, a licensed clinical social worker, said divorce sometimes is unavoidable. However, she said the purpose of the conference is to show couples the importance of working through marital problems and to seek help when necessary.
“If you do whatever it takes to save your marriage, then it will be stronger than ever,” she said. “People tend to be ashamed to get counseling for issues in the marriage, but reaching out to someone else helps. One person can’t save a marriage. It takes both partners to be willing to work through it and to do what it takes to salvage their love.”
Klingman will celebrate her 16th wedding anniversary in April. She and her husband Paul have raised three children together: Michael, Katelyn and Lori.
“Marriage is definitely work, but it’s worth it,” she said.
Coleen Mast is a nationally recognized author, guest speaker and radio host. Via her call-in radio show, “The Doctor Is In,” she sees firsthand the extremes couples go through to keep their marriage together.
“Quite often, in a troubled marriage, one spouse does not understand or doesn’t want to make the effort to understand that their partner’s needs may be different from theirs,” she said. “Commonly, people come into marriage to get their needs fulfilled, rather than meet needs of their partners. They come in still in that self-centered stage looking at marriage not as, ‘I want to give my life to you,’ but saying, ‘You make me happy and I like this feeling so I am going to marry you.’
“What they don’t realize is after the romance has subsided and those feelings are gone, we have to learn what love is with our actions, habits and behaviors,” Coleen Mast continued. “Taking of your spouse and seeing what they need more than being concerned about what you need.”
In addition to the Masts’ presentations, the one-day conference offers interactive group sessions, closing liturgy with Jacobs and an optional “Date Night” supper for participants.
The cost of the conference is $65 per couple, and $95 for the conference and the date night per couple.
To registration, call (985) 872-1810, or visit the Diocese’ Web site at www.htconferences.org.
For more information on the Mast’s programs, visit the couple’s Web site at www.respectincorporated.com.
Coleen and Kent Mast, who operate Respect Incorporated, are among the presenters at the Oct. 3 mini-marriage conference sponsored by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s Office of Family Ministries and Conference Office. * Photo courtesy of the MASTS
