P and I were in Chiang Mai and it was a wonderful break from our usual routine. The weather was ideal for walking, sunny yet cool and dry, and in the evenings, the temperature dipped further. So we did a fair amount of walking, together with the requisite eating and shopping.
Again we were blessed to have a church nearby to attend mass. I was pleasantly surprised to bump into Father Olivier last Sunday at the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Father O was my SD when I went for my silent retreat at Seven Fountains some years back. Thus my memories of Chiang Mai are always coloured by Jesus, for in this place He spoke to me so vividly and lovingly all those years ago.
On this trip, P and I have experienced the Lord’s blessings, not just in our sumptuous accommodation (many thanks to P’s Chairman for her generosity), but also His protective hand when we trekked around Doi Inthanon National Park, enjoying the beauty of nature.
We celebrated two years of marriage yesterday and I have a sense of deep gratitude for Mother Mary’s gentle guidance and protection. Consecrating ourselves and our marriage to her was the best thing we ever did for she has helped us along the rapids of marriage, easing the pain of misunderstanding and miscommunication, while enabling us to build stronger bonds through the days and weeks of living, loving and laughing together.
Loving is not always easy. Much as we desire the good of the other, we invariably end up hurting the other at times. The only way we can move forward unhampered by past blunders and failings is to seek with sincere hearts to first love Jesus before we try to love each other. Somehow this intention is important for it is only through the Lord we are able to renew ourselves individually, and subsequently, the marriage of two become one.
The sacramental nature of marriage is the supernatural glue that unifies two very different people by dissolving all the inevitable pain and frustration suffered, while binding and healing bruised hearts, fashioning them into a whole that speaks of God’s true nature to the world, love, in the very fundamental and vital vocation of marriage.
Mother Mary has brought us time and again back to her Son, and she has whispered words of wisdom, urging us to deeper intimacy with each other despite our fears and baggage. She has taught us to walk softly and hold each other’s heart with open, gentle and forgiving hands. She is our Mother guiding us forward to embrace our mutual vocation of marriage with joyful resolve.
As we continue to walk forward, we do so, hand in hand, hearts entwined. We thank Our Lady of Guadalupe. who is our Patroness as we were married on her Feast Day. for inviting us into her womb that we may be born anew together with Her Son, incarnating Him to each other and to the world around us.
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