With Simon Anthony
I pray every day. I pray the Rosary each morning at 5am. If my lovely wife Jacqueline is awake she will pray it with me and sometimes our kids join in.
If I tell someone that I will pray for them I do so that day.
Every night we pray as a family. At dinner time we hold hands and say Grace. Before the children’s bedtime we pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.
We also thank Jesus for special blessings we receive each day.
We believe that a family that prays together stays together. I try to work hard and offer up everything I do to God. I find that things work out better that way.
We were married in January 2000. We have six kids: Madeleine (9), Josephine (8), Augustine (7), Caroline (5), Benjamin (2) and Gwendoline (1). Over the last five years that Jacqueline and I have been involved with Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) we have prayed even more as a couple and as a family. WWME has brought Jacqueline and me closer together which has had a positive influence on our children.
WWME is a movement within the Catholic Church for the enrichment and renewal of the Sacrament of Marriage and the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Through the WWME movement, we have come to realise and appreciate that priests and Religious are human. They need our prayers. Our kids love and respect them. Through having priests and Religious over at our house, it may encourage our children to consider those vocations for themselves.
WWME weekends are presented by a team of three couples and a priest. The presentations focus on bringing closeness, intimacy, love and romance back into our everyday lives. For example, making time for each other, dealing with difficult topics without bitterness or stress, the benefits of listening, etc. We’re not counsellors.
We believe that it is important to support, strengthen and renew these two Sacraments for the benefit of the Church and society. Mass is celebrated during the weekend and Reconciliation is available.
The Vision and mission statement of WWME is: “Love one another as I have loved you.” WWME’s mission of renewal in the Church and change in the world is to assist couples and priests to live fully intimate and responsible relationships by providing them with a Catholic experience and ongoing community support to enrich such a lifestyle. WWME weekends are currently held in over 82 countries.
I believe if you pray for something you will get it. After the first scan of Josephine, our doctor wanted to us to abort our baby because he thought she was going to have T18 (Trisomy 18 or Edwards Syndrome).
It is usually fatal, with most of the babies dying before birth and those who do make it to birth having a limited survival rate). We told the doctor we don’t believe in abortion because we are practising Catholics.
Jacqueline and I went to Mass every day. A nun loaned us a first class relic of St Mary MacKillop (now known as St Mary of the Cross). I prayed for her intercession. The last scan we had showed that there was nothing wrong with our baby. My faith is the most precious thing in my life.
For further enquiries on Worldwide Marriage Encounter, contact Simon and Jacqueline Anthony on (08) 6142 4619 or 0414 285 884.