After the communion in Sunday mass today, our parish priest announced that today is Marriage Sunday, a day of honoring Husbands and Wives married via the Sacrament of Matrimony. He called on a couple who is celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, offered a special prayer for them and blessed them.
I have always considered witnessing a couple say "I do" infront of God such a beautiful miracle, but seeing a couple who had been thru 25 years together and still look very happy is one extraordinary miracle.
When the mass was over, we had a moment to chitchat with our friend, Sister Clare, a nun who is also a part of the parish's ministry whom we met during the World Youth Day in Sydney last year. For a short time, we were able to exchange stories of what's happening in our respective lives and even acknowledged that it has been a year since WYD. How time flies.
Part of our update with Sister Clare was our story of "playing house, playing husband and wife for real" coz at the time we met, we told her we were looking for a place to stay. Since we touched on the subject of marriage, Sister Clare mentioned that she thought that since today is "Marriage Sunday", the parish priest would ask all the married couples to stand up and be blessed. She reckon the parish priest changed his mind since there was also a baby that needed to be blessed (pre-christening rites).
Surprisingly, before we all said goodbye, Sister Clare held our (Chris and I's) hands in her hands and said a short prayer for us. I didn't realized it at first, but when she said "I hope God bless you more each day that you are together...", I knew right there and then that she was blessing us due to today being Marriage Sunday. It was such an amazing moment. Chris and I walked out of the church feeling at peace and blessed more than ever. The prayer and blessing that Sister Clare gave us this morning is one surprise gift we will always treasure.
