Tony Sperendi is a Lay Ecclesial Minister. He has worked at St. Francis Parish in Ann Arbor as the Director of Adult Faith Formation, taught theology at Fr. Gabriel Richard High School, and worked at St. Therese Parish as the director of RCIA and Adult Faith Formation. He has also served on the Diocesan Men’s Conference team, given marriage retreats, presented parish missions, Lenten and RCIA retreats and other talks and workshops.

“Marriage: Building Trust, Communication, and Intimacy with Each Other and the Lord”

Sunday, May 20, 9:30am-4:00pm

Sign-in and final registration starts at 9:00am along with coffee and snacks. The retreat starts at 9:30am. It will include short presentations on trust, communication, intimacy, and making room for Jesus to be at the center of our marriage. Each couple will discuss privately to build trust and intimacy within your marriage. The day will also include morning snacks and coffee, Mass, and lunch. The cost is $95 per couple.
​This retreat will help you draw upon the grace and mercies of Our Lord. Jesus is very fond of married couples. His love for us knows no bounds. Look what he did for the couple at Cana when they ran out of wine. He miraculously helps them when they were in need. He wants to do the same for us. Jesus is very practical, down to earth, and wants to help us in our everyday needs as well as our trust and intimacy issues as a couple. See the Gospel of John, chapter two for yourself. The Father desires all married couples to grow in love as He intended from the very beginning of creation. But he’s also aware marriage isn’t easy. In fact, at times it can be very challenging. That’s why he elevated the vocation of marriage to be a sacrament, so that all the treasures and graces of heaven will be at our disposal! Listen what he tells us in the Scriptures: 
“I will be with you… I will never abandon nor forsake you. Be not afraid… I will never forget you. You are mine… I have a future full of hope waiting for you.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also reminds us:
“Our marriages are sealed and blessed by God himself… Authentic married love is caught up into divine love… Christ is the source of this grace… Our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of Matrimony.”
These words from our Bible and the Catechism reaffirm that we are not in this alone. The Lord is with us to help and support us! We will look at ways couples can grow in prayer and spiritual intimacy together.
Here are some comments on past marriage retreats for couples…
  • “Tony gave me a large number of tools to help communicate and understand my wife. He was a delight!!! Very personable, fun, and knowledgeable.”
  • “Time spent together w/ my wife working on our marriage in a positive way. Tony was very good.”
  • “The retreat put my frazzled thoughts and desires to communicate in order. Even my husband understood me after reading the handouts and hearing it explained. He gave personal accounts, spoke in layman’s terms, and used humor. Thank you.”
  • “I liked the chance to address a problem area together. The retreat gave us the opportunity and helps to do this.”
  • “Encouraging; could relate. Good resources.”
  • “I like his emphasis on making marriage #1 priority.”
  • “The retreat helped open us up and helped us listen to each other better. I also liked it when he brought God’s love into marriages. It’s uplifting.”
  • “It taught me to be more of a listener and not to bud in when she’s talking.”
  • “Excellent retreat of many ways my wife and I can improve our marriage. He’s friendly, personable, and a good communicator and gave good examples.”
  • “How to talk to my spouse and how to listen really helped. The topics were exactly what we were dealing with ourselves.”
  • “I learned that respecting my spouse’s feelings is more important than the ‘issue’ itself.”
  • “Tony is a great person and has great talent for relating to people. And even with his training he and his wife have problems too. He’s encouraging and helpful.”