"The union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain, for whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name, there is love, Oh, there is Love!"
There can be no most wondrous site on Earth than that of a man and woman proclaiming their unconditional love and utmost commitment in marriage to "travel on to where the two shall be as one."
Indeed, amidst the drudgery, pains and darkness of life in a world characterized by relentless conflict, love sheds a stupendous light that flows from hearts oozing with celestial fire.
That celestial fire shone so brightly on August 20, 2010 at 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon in the gardens of Marco Hotel, Cugman, Cagayan de Oro City, on the occasion of a double wedding celebration of John Amorante A. Bao and Genevieve Rebollido and Rolly S. Cablinda and Ruth L. Rebollido, to whom I acted as one of the principal sponsors. Both marriages were simultaneously officiated by Pastor Jerome V. Manriquez.
The ceremony, with some four hundred guests in attendance, may be simple; yet, its simplicity showed forth the intensity of beauty and the essence of love, made more wonderful by the outpourings of congratulations and best wishes from parents, relatives, friends and sponsors.
The rituals began with the entrance of the principal sponsors, followed by secondary sponsors and the grooms standing near the altar waiting for their respective brides. After everyone was settled in his/her seat, there came the most awaited appearances of the two beautiful brides, Jenny and Ruth, gracefully walking one after another in the flowers-laden path, towards their respective grooms, John and Rolly.
What an amazing scenario that dwells in the realm of the sublime! That gracious walk of a beautiful bride going toward the beloved, with accompanying heart-inspiring classical music, has given meaning to the lyrics of the song, "Well a man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home, and they shall travel on to where the two shall be as one. As it was in the beginning is now and until the end. Woman draws her life from man and gives it back again. And there is love. Oh, there is love."
The coming together of the beloved in each one's loving embrace in spiritual oneness is a perfect poem by itself. It was as if the deepest secret has been revealed to the two of them, echoing those romantic lines of a poem by E.E. Cunnings, "Here is the deepest secret no one knows, here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of the tree, called life which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide. It is the wonder that is keeping the stars apart." Only those whose hearts are filled with celestial fire, molded in the pains and joy of love, can partake of that deepest secret.
Indeed, what could be the "the reason for becoming man and wife? Asked in the Wedding Song composed by Peter, Paul and Mary. "Is it love that brings you here or Love that brings you life? Or, if loving is the answer, then who's the giving for? Do you believe in something that you've never seen before? Oh, there's Love. There is Love."
For in truth, Love is the Universe's deepest secret that transcends time and space. For as always, one carries the beloved in his/her heart, not only for a lifetime but for all eternity. To Rolly and Ruth, to John and Jenny: Even your names speak well of your being meant for each other. God bless you always as you scale the heights and breadth of life powered by the wings of love, the most formidable force in the Universe that can conquer all!
This was re-affirmed on August 20, 2010 in the gardens of Marco in a celebration of love, in whose name and for whose cause, the Universe exists.