St. Anastasia Parish to host annual Together in Holiness conference Oct. 10 to delve into St. John Paul II’s ‘Theology of the Body’
TROY — Married and engaged couples are being invited to draw closer to God, and, in turn, each other at the 2026 Together in Holiness Conference on Oct. 10 at St. Anastasia Parish in Troy.
This year’s theme, “Family: an Image of the Trinity,” will delve into how the love between husband and wife — and potential children from such a union — mirrors the love present in the Holy Trinity between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The annual one-day conference is jointly sponsored by the Archdiocese of Detroit and the St. John Paul II Foundation
Colin and Aimee McIver of Mandeville, La., who soon will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and have spent most of their marriage working in marriage ministry, will deliver two keynote addresses at the conference, catered to engaged and married couples of all ages.
“This conference really encourages spouses and engaged couples to come together not just to hear the two presentations, but to take in the whole experience of prayer, discernment and learning. We hope it really inspires people who are called to this vocation and gives them a beautiful vision of what their vocation is,” Aimee McIver told Detroit Catholic.
The two keynote addresses, “The Nuptial Meaning of the Body” and “Sent Forth in Love: The Family’s Trinitarian Mission” are both centered on Pope St. John Paul II’s well-known series of lectures known as the “Theology of the Body.”
“St. John Paul II in his ‘Theology of the Body’ talks about a concept called the 'nuptial meaning of the body,'” Aimee McIver said. “It’s a connection with Ephesians 5, and the body revealing a call to self-gift and communion.”
Both talks will focus on the Church’s vision for married life and the vocation shared by both husband and wife to love and be loved by their spouse, as well as God.
“The origin of this love in found in the Trinity,” Colin McIver said. “From all of eternity, God is an exchange of self-gift; there is a poured-out love in all the members of the Trinity to one another. When we say we’re created in the image and likeness of God, an analogy for that is what we find in the family. In the nuptial love, spouses pour themselves out to one another, and speak to one another the language that our Lord speaks.”
The McIvers will delve into ways couples can draw closer to one another, citing examples of marriages that willed a holiness for one another — such as Sts. Louis Martin and Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux.
The conference, scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., will include Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and confession.
Early bird pricing, which ends Aug. 24, costs $54 per couple, or $35 for an individual ticket. After Aug. 24, tickets cost $64 per couple, or $40 per individual.
“Our lives very rarely give us a chance to actually focus on our marriage, so any chance you have to set aside time to focus on your spouse, focus on yourself and your relationship with God, that can’t but produce fruit,” Aimee McIver said. “It’s not about escaping the day-to-day life, but it’s a chance to see the fruits of your marriage or engagement in day-to-day life, to know and appreciate and renew a sense of clarity and vision in your vocation.”
