Tonight I assisted and preached at the wedding of a delightful couple that I have been preparing since February. Tim and Lindsey celebrated a beautiful Sacrament tonight with a nuptial Mass. It was an awesome celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony just as God intended. Tim & Lindsey are the 6th couple I have prepared and helped marry from my daughter's amazing referral pool. One or both of the new spouses in these six weddings first called my daughter to get to me. They all are girlfriends, in one case it was a guy, from high school and college. In most cases I know the family to some degree. This almost always makes for a smooth preparation period and the actual celebration of the wedding.
Ironically, #1 daughter has no such plans regarding marriage yet. The daddy in me is so OK with that. I do look forward to the day when I can be father of the bride. I don't know, when that day does come, if I would want to preach or receive the vows. My gut feeling today is I would. But one never knows when the actual time comes.
I take the Sacrament of Matrimony very seriously. I prepare the couple over a period of 6 months and will meet with the couple from 8 to 12 times. We explore the depths of sacramental marriage, their commitment to a covenant and all the various aspects revealed on the FOCCUS inventory test. Sometimes we explore in-depth spiritual preparation depending on the couple and often I have to balance the delicate reality that one of the prospective spouses is not Catholic. I will often work closely with that individual to explore his/her faith tradition and true willingness to be married in the Catholic Church.
So another wedding is done and in the books; and soon I begin my next marriage prep, courtesy of #1 daughter's referral pipeline!
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