We all heard the story about the wife catching his husband
sniffing and sighing on their sofa before midnight. Realizing that it was their
20th wedding anniversary the next day and touched by his random show of
afffection, she asked him why he was emotional. The husband’s dead-panned
answer was that he remembered his wife’s father’s threat of 20-year jail time
when they eloped and how a free man he would have been starting the next day.
Kidding aside.
I admit I was misty-eyed as I witnessed last month a wedding of two
persons in love. The bride looked stunning in her gown and the groom was all
smiles, happiness uncontained. All of us were giggling at how the groom can’t
seemed to wait for the ceremonial wedding kiss as he kept on moving his assertive
self towards his bride. Hindi makapaghintay, sabi nga nila. And when the
officiating priest finally gave the clearance for the groom’s exploding desire
to kiss his bride, we had to cover all the children’s eyes to help maintain their
innocence.
I was misty eyed because the wedding is not for a
newlywed but for the renewal of vows for my uncle and aunt’s 50th golden wedding
anniversary. Yes, my aunt was stunning in her golden wedding gown and my uncle
was all smiles in his toothless state, yet there I was witnessing how “love
conquered all”.
I know since childhood that my aunt has always been a
devout Catholic and was actively involved in Church activities but my uncle has
been known in our circle to be “more holy” as he religiously served in another
gathering where he is the “kristo”. My aunt is such a sweet lady but uncle was
more sweet especially when asking some budget for his next kristo game. She was
a very good cook and my uncle always brought home the “fresh” chicken after the
games. Fond childhood memories kept filling my mind.
Tita Conching is like a second mother to me and Tito
Lonie has nothing but fatherly affection for me when I was a child. They lived
simply in their house beside the river come high tide or low-tide. They have
six children and a handful of trying times. One of their children turned his back on his Catholic faith and joined another sect. One got pregnant
out of wed-lock and their youngest, a namesake of mine, died very young a year
before his own wedding plan is to take place. These are the only known and
visible ones but it does not take rocket science to know for certain that they
have more challenges, a lot difficulties and tons hardships during their 50
years of being together.
In an age where a mere wrongly positioned toilet paper or
a forgotten month-sary is enough grounds for separation, my uncle and aunt
stood humbly and totally in love in front of us, in sickness and in health, for
richer and for poorer, to love and to cherish until death bring them apart.
Now that’s what my feel-good tears are for.
Congratulations to Tita Conching and Tito Lonie!
Mabuhay po kayo.
Saludo po kami sa inyo!
Ephesians 5:22-33
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for
Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the
husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself
the savior of the body.As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should
be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the
church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the
bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in
splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and
without blemish. So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but
rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,because we
are members of his body.“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and
[his] mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to
Christ and the church.In any case, each one of you should love his wife as
himself, and the wife should respect her husband.
