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March 8, 2016Last Friday, I went to a wedding. Oh, not just an ordinary wedding, but a special one. A civilly married couple was getting married in the Church.
A few days before, one of the brothers came up to ask me if I would go, and I was somewhat hesitant to accept. I had just been visiting Toronto to spend time with my family and I needed to catch up on my studies. In the end, though, he convinced me that I needed to be there to sing, so at first, I reluctantly agreed.
As I look back, I was very glad I that went. The wedding was simple but special. It was a small gathering of family and friends, and seven of us were there to sing for them during the ceremony. The mass was simple and we had dinner together at a nearby restaurant to celebrate their renewed commitment in the Church.
What moved me though wasn’t the wedding ceremony itself, but the fidelity of the spouses and the joyful love that they had for each other. They had been married outside the church for 25 years, but that wasn’t enough. Now they wanted to confirm and strengthen that marital bond by promising to God, and the saints in heaven, that they’ll love each other for the rest of their lives. Now that’s somereal commitment.
Seeing their love for each other also reminded me of my own consecration to God, which I made a year and a half ago. The spouses’ firm commitment to one another motivated me to renew my own, promising to God once more that I’ll be faithful to Him. Just like them, I remembered that I had promised God to be faithful in good and bad times, in sadness and joy, both in times of weakness and in times of strength. Like them, I pray that God be our rock, our comfort, our guide, and that we’ll be faithful to Him to the end of our days.
Br. Alphonse studies humanities at the Legion of Christ Novitiate and College of Humanities in Cheshire.
Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org
