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FOCCUS

FOCCUS is an aid for your marriage. It can help you study, understand, and communicate openly about many things that are important to your relationship. 

It is not a test or way to predict the future. Rather it is designed to help engaged couple target the topics you need and want to address as a couple. It is a questionnaire which is taken approximately 3-6 months prior to the marriage. Answer sheets are sent to the Family Life Office for processing and returned to the parish for a married couple or parish minister to facilitate with the couple.

There are 13 categories that questions are sorted into, so it is easy to see where more communication would be helpful. Below are the various categories:

  • Life Style Expectations
  • Friends and Interest
  • Personality Match
  • Personal Issues
  • Communications
  • Problem Solving
  • Religion and Values
  • Parenting Issues
  • Extended Family Issues
  • Sexuality Issues
  • Financial Issues
  • Readiness Issues
  • Marriage Covenant

In addition there are special categories to address particular issues some engaged couples face:

  • Interfaith Marriages
  • Second Marriages
  • Cohabiting Couples

Our Lady of the Visitation had trained married couples who can facilitate the process of interpreting FOCCUS with the engaged couple. The engaged couple will meet in the rectory or in the married couple’s home for two or three sessions to go over the printout and the accompanying graph. The atmosphere in these sessions is relaxed and friendly. The purpose is always to assist couples to prepare for a happy marriage by communicating about those areas which may not have been carefully considered before-hand. The married couple will report back to the priest or deacon to complete this phase of preparation for marriage. This report is confidential, as are all other reports made in the marriage preparation process. For more information, please call the Parish Office at 922-2056.