“A relationship between the two of us… and God”

Marriage – is that just the “normal route” when God doesn’t call you to the priesthood or religious life? It is, instead, a vocation that requires discernment and preparation. Janice Bourgeois (24) and Sean Coburn (22), both chemical engineers living in Corpus Christi, are getting married on September 16 in Louisiana. Here’s what they share about the journey leading to their wedding.

Janice: We were friends before we started dating. We met in the summer of 2021, coming to Corpus Christi for internships, and we met some other Catholic interns. We went to Mass together every Sunday at St. Philip the Apostle and got to know each other well. Slowly, I understood that Sean was “the one.” We’ve had many opportunities to grow in our faith and watch each other. The first Sunday, we all had brunch together and had a lot of deep conversations about what we wanted in life and how we viewed life. From those talks and hanging out with each other, it became evident that Sean was the person I wanted to be with.

Sean: I was not looking for a relationship; I thought I would be here only for a few months and didn’t know what life would have in store for me afterward. We just became good friends first, which was nice. Her understanding of our faith attracted me to her!

Janice: When we got engaged, many people said we were too young and would not know each other well enough. I think a lot of that pressure comes from people who don’t view marriage and relationships in the Catholic or Christian way but with the world’s standards.

Sean: My parents got married late, in their thirties, so I got some push-back from my family that I’m too young; they were unsure if that would work. And I needed to finish school, we needed to get jobs, and everything lined up before getting married.

Janice: I think marriage is the most beautiful and humbling experience you could ever have. We are called to serve each other, to submit to one another, and to lay down our lives for each other. Many people don’t see that Catholic marriage is a relationship between the two of us and God and that it mirrors the Trinity.

Sean: I grew up Catholic, and during my early college years, I thought about if I should become a priest, but I never really felt called to religious life…

Janice: I was Catholic until I was nine and then went to several nondenominational churches. That is where I found Jesus and found my way back to the Catholic Church. My desire has always been to be a mother, whether that would be a spiritual or a physical mother. As the years have gone by, I’ve prayed about it and offered that desire to God, and the more He has shown me that marriage is my way.

Sean: When I told my dad I would ask Janice’s dad to marry her, we had a very long conversation. He just understood marriage as most people do – date around for a while, trying to have fun and many life experiences and then find somebody to marry. But I didn’t want to make the most of college time, but rather following God’s plan.

Janice: I think families can even play a more significant role in the Church than their current status quo. Coming from a Protestant church, I believe community is the most considerable thing Catholics can grow in, and over the course of the past year, I’ve seen so much development – like couples mentoring other couples or taking in college kids far away from home … There are so many ways a family can bring God’s presence to others.