A Friendship Leading Us To Say “Yes”

Anna and David, both former Con-solatio missionaries, celebrated the Sacrament of Matrimony on Dec 12, 2020, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

There was a knock on my door the morning of my wedding – the Con-solatio community! They had come to sing morning prayer with me and my bridesmaids before getting ready. Through the few voices surrounding me that morning I felt the presence and prayers of the whole Con-solatio family – our community brothers and sisters around the world, our friends from the neighborhoods in Peru, Brazil and Ecuador, our mentors that accompanied us throughout mission, our fellow U.S. former missionaries.

Throughout the whole weekend, David and I experienced once again what lies at the heart of the Con-solatio mission: God’s abundant love expressed through friendship. To see the way in which the Con-solatio missionaries gave themselves totally to us, supported and reached out to our families and friends, beautified the Church and reception hall with flowers, and brought a presence of prayer to the days left David and I overwhelmed with gratitude for their true friendship – a friendship that seeks our total good and leads us to say “Yes” to our vocation from God.

David and I are now discovering that our friendship with Con-solatio not only helped us to say “Yes” to marriage, but also formed us in how to live our marriage rooted in Christ. We begin our days singing the Liturgy of the Hours morning prayer with melodies learned on mission. We can welcome people to our home as Mary and Martha, with a particular attention to those who need a presence. We can turn to our experience of community life to know the importance of communication and unity between us and to put disagreements in perspective. As we gave ourselves totally to others on mission, we now give ourselves to one another, understanding more fully that our “Yes” is a commitment to love until the end – accepting all of the crosses and joys that it brings.