By Pamela Seal
Diocese of Lake Charles
MOSS BLUFF — Bryan and Ginger LeDoux describe their marriage as being “God-centered” and took advantage of a recent opportunity to make sure it remains that way.
Longtime parishioners of St. Theodore Catholic Church, the LeDouxs were among 18 couples from around the Diocese of Lake Charles who registered for the sixth annual Together in Holiness marriage enrichment day at Camp Karol on March 28, Palm Sunday weekend.
Presented by the St. John Paul II Foundation and the Diocese of Lake Charles, this year’s theme was “Hope in the Domestic Church.”
Guest speakers included Greg Schutte, MSW, LISW-S, Senior Director of Marriage Works! Ohio, marriage therapist, and author; and Trevor and Jessica Jolie, parishioners of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Lake Charles.
The Most Reverend Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles, celebrated Mass with a special Marriage Blessing, and time was set aside for Eucharistic Adoration, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and one-on-one time for couples. His Excellency commended those in attendance for their commitment to marriage.
“The daily sacrifices of marriage, the patient love offering in moments of difficulty, the faithfulness chosen anew each day: these are not burdens to be endured but signs of hope to be embraced,” the Bishop remarked.
Approaching 39 years of marriage, Ginger registered for the one-day conference that benefits newlyweds to couples married several decades or more.
“Bryan went through a conversion in his faith a couple of years ago, so this is something we wanted to do together because I knew he would enjoy it,” said Ginger.
The Jolie’s talk on “In Good Times and In Bad” hit home with the LeDouxs. Trevor and Jessica, married for nearly 18 years and parents to three, shared their early struggles of separate prayer lives, no communication, unfaithfulness, putting everything else before each other, and how God eventually became the center of their marriage. Their testimony highlighted ways in which a married couple is called upon to focus on Jesus Christ as the ultimate source of hope for marriage.
“The couple who spoke, their story is very similar to ours,” Bryan said while sitting on a swing next to Ginger. Looking at his wife, he admitted, “Through her heart of Christ that showed mercy and forgiveness to me is really what brought me to Christ. I still grieve over my past life because of all the heartache I brought, but it is all in my past now.”
After making an A.C.T.S. retreat in May 2024 at Saint Charles Center, Bryan said that is where God met him.
“It was a profound experience and a catapult. I have been growing and growing and growing (in my faith) since then,” he remarked. “Since I have gone through my conversion, I have taken the anchor out of the water on her ship, so she is able to pursue her faith.” Ginger is in formation for the Secular Franciscan Order, making her profession in another 18 months of the three-year program at which time she will become a member.
The LeDouxs said they were blessed to have Bishop Provost celebrate Mass and felt the presence of Christ through him.
In his homily, the bishop spoke about the importance of Christian resignation in accepting the God’s help we when pray, “Thy Will be done.”
“This Christian resignation is not merely enduring trials and tribulations,” Bishop Provost noted. “This virtue of resignation requires, most importantly, the steadfast and living faith in God’s Providence to bring good out of the most impossible circumstances.”
He continued, “When I hear what people complain, and when I listen to my own petty frustrations, I say what is this in the face of Good Friday? And then I ask, what did our Lord do? He resigned himself to steadfast faith in the Father’s will, and this is what Christian resignation is.”
CLICK HERE to learn more about the St. John Paul II Foundation and its initiative, Together in Holiness.
