On Friday,
my goddaughter got married by the church and you know that I love covering the
sacraments on here. I have been to quite
a few Catholic ceremonies and I haven’t seen a priest who celebrates them quite
as beautiful as Father Sergio. He has a
unique way, perhaps a God given talent for weddings. During his homily he involves the couple,
telling them that he’s going to administer a test and based on the couple’s
score he will proceed with the marriage.
The first question he asked, “Do you know what God’s hobby is? What He loves doing on His time off?” He gives all of us a second to think, then
passes the microphone to the husband-to-be and then his bride. Both agree that
God’s hobby is to see His people happy.
“That’s
minus ten points,” Father says. Then he
invites the wedding party to help the couple with a different answer. After many fails followed by laughter, Father
shares the answer, “God’s hobby is to play matchmaker.” After asking the couple where they were born (the
groom in Mexico City and the bride in Fountain Valley) Father goes on to explain all the work that it must have taken God to have the two come together and be
celebrating their marriage... I had never
heard of God’s favorite hobby as being a matchmaker, but the more I thought
about it the more I liked the idea.
I have found the one my heart loves...
My
goddaughter and her husband have been together for eleven years, they have a
nine year-old-son. She got pregnant soon
after her fifteen birthday, so she had to grow up rather quickly. I have seen her through the entire process of
becoming a teenage mom, of going from a silly girl who thought love was all joy
and no suffering to a young woman who didn’t let one rash decision be the end of
her life. I remember her telling me how
initially her relationship with her now husband used to be all fun and fantasy,
but now that they were linked with a child and living together the reality was
a bit overwhelming. Living together
twenty-four seven, while trying to be parents and finding ways to provide for
their family can be terribly stressful for any adult much more for two teens. Yet, my goddaughter didn’t let one decision
define the rest of her life and that’s what I love about her. She’s had a challenging life, but she soon
realized that in order to improve her life she needed to start making better choices. The first was finishing high
school. The dropout rate of teenage moms
is quite high; yet, she promised herself that she would finish and finish she
did. She even attends university! People when faced with hardships can either become
bitter, blame others and their circumstances, but my goddaughter realized that one
choice was not going to be the demise of her dreams- or the rest of her
life. I love that warrior attitude in
her and when we talk I love the maturity with which she expresses her thoughts. She’s such a fighter and I love that about
her- I think I've said that before.
They got married on their son's 9th birthday!
Recently,
she and her hubby took the Alpha Course at my parish and through the program
they realized that they wanted to get their civil union blessed. As a couple they have had many trials and for
them receiving the Sacrament of Marriage was like a fresh start, a new
beginning with God completely involved in their family. It’s been such a blessing watching her faith
grow and seeing her excitement towards God.
God truly is a matchmaker and sometimes he matches us with another
person, but always He matches us with His love.
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