Community Programs

Magis Deo has numerous programs and practices for its members. The following are the main programs partaken by the community:

  1. Marriage Encounter Weekend – The Marriage Encounter Weekend is the primary advocacy of Magis Deo. It is a 3-day retreat for couples that is meant to nourish their marriage bond. For some couples, this can be a second honeymoon, an opportunity to rekindle their relationship, or simply to get away from it all. it is treated as a second honeymoon, It is a weekend where couples from different walks of life attend together and discover or reignite their couple power. Led by a spiritual director, the ME Weekend tackles how God is the third party in a couple’s marriage. It goes through how how to improve the marriage relationship with practical advice on empathy, communication etc. It is an experiential retreat where you will also learn from other couples joining the retreat.
  2. Marriage Booster – The Marriage Booster program is a series of talks that are intended for married couples. It is a Zoom meeting that lasts one and a half hours and features a talk by a Catholic Priest or Marriage Expert on a specific topic, followed with the audience. Topics would typically tackle marriage relationship challenges such as infidelity, lack of communication between spouses, relationships with in-laws, addictions, and other real-life situations facing married couples.
  3. Suyuan – The Suyuan is a one-day marriage enrichment seminar intended to introduce the Marriage Encounter Weekend principles to the underprivileged communities. These are held using Tagalog language. Magis Deo has been holding Suyuans since 1994 (and as far back as 1998 with UGAT foundation) and has sponsored more than 200 Suyuans around the nation.
  4. Basic Christian Growth Groups Meetings – Our community members are formed into groups called BCGGs, or Basic Christian Growth Groups, primarily based on geography. The group’s primary purpose is to provide support for the Christian life of the couple and to encourage, hasten and strengthen their spiritual growth. The BCGG meet every week for faith sharing following a prescribed Ignatian methods. Each BCGG has a Shepherd tasked to guide the couples and to ensure community goals are being met by the BCGG. Members are encouraged to join or organize outreach activities, attend the monthly Community Celebrations, and attend formation programs of the community.
  5. Community Celebrations – The Community Celebration is a monthly gathering of the members of the community to foster camaraderie, promote socialization and develop spirituality. This is by means of a breakfast commune, a lecture provided by a featured speaker, and the celebration of the Holy Mass as the culminating activity.
  6. Formation Programs – To enable the holistic spiritual formation of its community members, Magis Deo has a formation program that provides opportunities to deepen spirituality and faith. Activities include the Spiritual Deepening Retreat, the Annual Ignatian Retreat, and online or face to face lectures and seminars.
  7. Outreach – Our community believes that to do More for God, we need to do More for Others. Our outreach program provides opportunities for members to share their time, talent and treasures to help the least, the lost and the last of our brethren. The primary outreach advocacy of Magis Deo is the Suyuan program where we facilitate a one-day marriage encounter retreat for couples belonging to less privileged communities.

  8. Youth Programs – Magis Deo values formation of the family and so we also offer programs for the youth of Magis Deo members. The children have separate events that coincide with the monthly community celebration that also teach them values formation and spiritual development. They also have opportunities to join outreach events.


Joining the Community!

The entry point to the community is the Marriage Encounter (ME) Weekend. This is followed by attendance to 10 ME Class Reunions that culminate to a sponsorship of another ME Weekend where they serve as Auxies (auxiliary support teams).

After the ME Weekend sponsorship, the ME class then attend a Prayer Orientation and Workshop which teaches them the Ignatian prayer methods.

Following this, the ME Class go through a Spiritual Deepening Retreat (SDR), a multi-sectoral live-in weekend. Upon completion of this retreat, the class is invited to join the Basic Christian Growth Group (BCGG), which is composed of 5 to 10 couples and headed by a Shepherd Couple. The BCGGs perform regular faith sharing and accompany each other thru their spiritual and couple journey. At this point, the members of the ME Class can be commissioned as Magis Deo Community members.