For the second year of the 2024-2030 period, the International Leading Team is proposing to all worldwide Teams a study theme based on the essential texts of Father Henri Caffarel. Fundamental writings on human love and marriage that he published in the form of articles in the magazine L’Anneau d’Or and at conferences, and which have been compiled in an anthology on love and the sacrament of marriage, in the book entitled “Le mariage, aventure de sainteté”.Henri CAFFAREL, Le mariage, aventure de sainteté, Parole et silence, 2013.

We are faced with an immense opportunity to go to the roots of the profound thought that revolutionized the concept and ideal of sacramental marriage in the Church, and which remains more alive than ever today. Team members cannot be content with rereading a few sentences or paragraphs isolated from their context, which constitute extracts that we cut up as we please. If we are to be faithful to our vocation as Christian couples united by the sacrament of marriage, we need to be well trained and able to give an account of the richness of our sacrament. We might think that we’ve dealt with this theme many times in the history of Teams. But we assure you that working for a whole year with these texts will place us at the deepest root of our conjugal vocation. And it will also enable us to emphasize the orientation of this second year: Called to live in communion with our spouse. A life of full conjugal communion strengthens us for our mission as a Christian couple in the world around us, making us more solid as a couple to be a sign of God’s presence in a world that needs us.

We invite you to welcome with absolute respect and admiration these texts, which are suitable for everyone, from newlyweds to those who have already been married for a long time. It will also help spiritual counsellors and guides to penetrate to the very heart of sacramental marriage. We need to be aware of the language Father Henri Caffarel used at the time, which we cannot betray, and of his style, with constant references to French literature, which may require us to make an extra effort in reading. It’s true that this won’t make for quick, last-minute reading, but it’s no less true that it would be a real shame to avoid a thoughtful study of the theme, rather than savor it, ruminate on it, keep it in our hearts.

Only a few chapters of the book have been selected, which have in turn been subdivided to adapt them to the format of a study theme. The majority of the texts have been preserved in their entirety; if a passage has been cut, this is indicated by the symbol (…). We have also respected certain neologisms that Father Henri Caffarel liked to invent from existing words in order to better express his thought; these neologisms are indicated between quotation marks.

Each chapter is finished with a series of guidelines for the Sit Down, which will be given priority this year, based on the suggested questions, in addition to the proposed questions for the team meeting. These materials do not come from Father Henri Caffarel’s texts, as we will explain below, but constitute a real descent into depth, which will require us to make an effort to be honest and truthful about our life as a couple. We therefore invite you to make the effort to Sit Down every month, even if it means, from time to time, supplementing it with other questions that are useful to address for your couple’s equilibrium.

Father Henri Caffarel, “prophet of marriage”, can really help us, in this year 2025-26, to renew our “yes”, to better understand the springs of human love enlightened by our Lord Jesus Christ, while granting us new graces for our sacrament of marriage. In so doing, as Father Caffarel writes, this study theme will also increase our love of God.