Courses offered to Couples have recently been combined to admit Single Men and Women (Solteros) in the same classroom setting. As we realized that some courses designed for Solteros who are discerning their vocation would also benefit parents who are parenting their older children, we offered these courses to Couples in their own rotations. One example is a course entitled Falling in Love with Wisdom. The course is aimed at helping a Soltero who is dating with the perspective of getting married and living the vocation of husband/father of wife/mother. The Canticle of Solomon repeatedly counsels caution and restraint for the emotions in the attraction between men and women, “I adjure you, Daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and the does of the field, Do not awaken or stir up love until it is ready” (Song 2:7; 3:5; 8:4). This course helps to bring into perspective the stimuluses of emotions and appetites from within and exterior cultural influences from customs, family, media and relationships. Keeping the perspective of vocation is a necessary balance.
A Single Woman (Soltera), Teresa, giving part of the presentation in a course which teaches lectio divina to couples and Solteros.

The possibility of opening the same course to both parents and Single Men and Women in the same presentation seemed advantageous from the aspect of spending less resources in terms of teaching and logistics, but additionally in terms of hearing the perspective of members of both groups receiving the instruction. The comments and questions of the Single Men and Women would be quite helpful for parents to hear. And vice versa, the Single Men and Women would benefit from the concerns of the pastoral perspective of the parents’ reactions and questions. 

We now have quite a few courses which we were presenting separately for each group and are now seeing the benefits and the enhancements of offering the material to the mixed audience. The relationships which are growing in this dynamic are and enrichment to the entire mission of Servants of the Cross.