Family Wedding

Family Wedding September 16, 2011

Last weekend I had the joy of officiating the wedding of my cousin Maria Fe and her husband Daniel. It was a beautiful ceremony attended by close family and friends.

My opening words at Mass were about God’s providence and his plan for each one of us. I said, “who in the family could have thought years ago that one day I, the youngest of the cousins, would be officiating the wedding of Maria Fe?”
After the wedding I have asked myself several times, what does it mean to have been able to officiate the wedding of a family member?
The question leads me to meditate on the gratuity of God’s grace – God’s ability to freely and liberally shower joys and blessings upon us.
The reason I was able to officiate the wedding was not due to my merits, but a result of the workings of God’s grace in my life. This is the gratuity of God’s grace. He showers good things upon us freely, and at my cousin’s wedding, he certainly showered many joys and blessings upon each one of us.
Having a priest in the family is a tremendous gift from God and a means of grace for the whole family. As a priest and family member, you become an instrument of God’s presence for the whole family.
On my mom’s side of the family there are three priests, the other two belong to religious orders. One lives in Lima, the other in Santiago de Chile. I’m sure my grandfather and his two brothers never thought they would each have a priest grandson.
It was a joy and an amazing experience to officiate the first wedding of a family member. Certainly a unique experience and gift for the whole family.
Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.
 

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