A union blessed by god

CEBU, Philippines - Marriage or matrimony is one of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. According to www.american catholic.org, the seven sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important to Christians.

The Sacrament of Marriage or Holy Matrimony, for Catholics, is a public sign that one gives oneself totally to another person. It is also considered as a public statement that the union of the husband and wife is a sign of family values and God’s values, as well.

Catholics put so much importance on the Sacrament of Marriage that it is a must for unions to be sealed by God through a church wedding. Church weddings, however, through time, have become such elaborate celebrations that couples and their families end up spending a lot of money for the ceremony and the wedding reception.

The costs that come with church weddings are the reasons why couples would usually opt to have civil weddings or just live together without the blessing of a church wedding.

This was the case of couples Nestor and Luli Love and Donald and Aireen. Both couples could not afford a church wedding. Nestor and Luli Love opted to just live together despite already having two children and a baby on the way while Donald and Aireen opted for a civil wedding.

Things changed, however, when the opportunity to take part in a mass wedding spearheaded by Jose “Dodong” Gullas of the Halad Foundation and The FREEMAN came. The opportunity to finally have that church wedding, without having to spend for the church fees, stole fees (fees for the priest), decorations for the church, the bride’s gown and the groom’s clothes, was just too good to pass up.

Gullas said it was his dream to sponsor a mass wedding for couples who have been living together out of wedlock because they could not afford a church wedding. “We pass into this world only once. In the remaining moments of my life, I want to do something for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. At the end of the day, what will make me happy is the thought that these deserving couples finally have the blessings of the Lord,” said Gullas.

As an added assistance to couples who participated in the mass wedding, Gullas took the effort to spend for everything. He provided for the couple’s wedding attire, hair and makeup for the bride with the help of the Make Up Artists Club of Cebu, church fees, and even the wedding reception.

The mass wedding proved to be the dream come true for many couples who have been together for years without the blessings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Nestor and Luli love

Nestor and Luli were living together for nine years already and they have two children and a baby on the way. Nestor did not have a regular job and Luli stayed at home to take care of their children.

“Who does not want to get married in church. We want our union to be blessed by God but we could not do anything. We do not have a regular income. We can barely support our children. We simply cannot afford a church wedding or any type of wedding to formalize our living together,” said Luli.

Luli was pregnant with their third child when her aunt read about the mass wedding to be sponsored by Gullas in Banat News. “We submitted ourselves for screening hoping that we will be included,” she said.

Nestor shared that they wanted to get married already because their children were growing and were asking them why they are not married. “The children kept on asking us and all we could say was that we will get to that soon. We wanted so much to be included in the mass wedding of Sir Dodong because it was for free. It was what we needed,” he added.

And their dream of getting married in church came true. Nestor and Luli were among the 38 couples, out of 200 who submitted themselves for screening, who got married at the St. Therese Parish Church in Lahug last February 1.

“Nalipay ko nga nakasal na akong mama ug papa aron dili na sila mag-away,” said Ryshian Avery, 6, Nestor and Luli’s daughter.

A teary-eyed Luli said she has Gullas and wife Nena to thank for, for making their dream of getting married come true. Aside from the mass wedding, the Gullas couple also shouldered the expenses for Luli’s delivery of their third child, who was born last February 14. To express their gratitude, the Ortega couple named their youngest son Josenena Valentine.

Donald and Aireen

Donald and Aireen Narra were married in civil rites in January 2004. Donald, who is the Dean of the College of Criminal Justice at the University of the Visayas, said three factors kept him and his wife from having a church wedding – finances, time and the assurance that they were really meant for each other.

Although it was their plan to get married in church eventually, circumstances prevented them from doing so. For example, Donald was working here in Cebu while his wife and children, Dreen Andrei and Airon Jed, were in Bicol, where they were originally from.

When Sir Dodong offered the opportunity of the mass wedding, Donald said it was time to have that church wedding.

“It was a good opportunity to obey God and the children were already demanding that we get married in church. My eldest kept on asking if his mother and I were really married claiming we did not have wedding pictures,” he shared.

But before they could finally have the church wedding, the Narra couple had to face some challenges – Aireen has not yet had the Sacrament of Confirmation, which was a requirement for marriage; Donald, who was already confirmed, could not find records of his confirmation.

But it was really meant to be for them to get married in church. With Gullas’ help, both were confirmed days before the scheduled wedding last February 1. “Our wedding was a beautiful day for our family. Before, we were tied according to the laws of the land. Now, we are tied according to the laws of God,” Donald concluded.