by Kuya Louie Climaco (Fra Louie)
With our five-month-old soon-to-be eldest baby in her Mom’s womb, my wife and I renewed our wedding vows for the first time on May 20, 2018, the thirteenth year of our marriage. Eleven other couples renewed their vows as well at the chapel of the Holy Family Retreat House, which is owned and managed by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer or Redemptorists, in Nivel Hills, Cebu City. The renewal of marriage vows on that Sunday, as part of the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist, concluded the three-day Basic Christian Marriage Retreat (BCMR) 23 of Mactan Chapter of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP), our Catholic charismatic community.
For the sake of the new and future members of the BCBP, I will not share any more details of what transpired during this very wonderful and unforgettable weekend retreat. Believe me, you would rather be spoiled about a movie that you have been dying to see that about this kind of retreat. I will share instead my thoughts on the coincidences between BCMR 23 and other events. Hopefully, they will move every married Catholic who read this article to be more faithful to God, Holy Mother the Catholic Church, each other, their children, and the institutions of marriage and family.
Solemnity of Pentecost
Holy Mother the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of Pentecost fifty days after the Sunday of the Resurrection or Easter Sunday. It is always held on a Sunday, the seventh Sunday from Easter Sunday, to be exact. The solemnity commemorates the Descent of God the Holy Spirit on the Blessed Virgin Mary, the apostles, and some of the disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks (read Acts 2:1–31 for details). If you recall, the Son promised in the Last Supper that He will send the Holy Spirit when He goes back to the Father.
Perhaps the following prayer is the most known of all prayers to the Holy Spirit:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.
From the second sentence (which comes from Psalm 104:30), we know that the Holy Spirit renews. Indeed, we read about this renewing action of the Holy Spirit from Sacred Scripture, such as the following passages:
I will . . . put a new spirit within them.
Ezekiel 11:19
A new spirit I will put within you . . . I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and . . . you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.
Ezekiel 37:14
You were taught . . . to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.
Ephesians 4:22-23
Now, do you remember when the Church celebrated the Solemnity of Pentecost on the year 2018? May 20, the same day we renewed our wedding vows! As soon as it was announced, I noticed this coincidence, and until now, my awe of it has not died down. How more wonderful and meaningful could it be that my wife and I renewed our wedding vows as we commemorated the descent of the Holy Spirit, who renews, in the Eucharist celebrating the solemnity?
Anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement (CCRM) began in 1967. International CCRM leader Charles Whitehead once described its work as “a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit . . . through which we are asked to hand our lives over to God and to give the power back to him. In a clear and deliberate act of surrender, we invite the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives. We allow God . . . to work in us through his Holy Spirit. . . . The Charismatic Renewal is a work of God, not of man.” BCBP is one of many members of the CCRM.
Do you know when the CCRM celebrates its anniversary? On the Solemnity of Pentecost! Why? Well, though it actually began in January 1967, since the work of the CCRM (as Whitehead puts it) is the sovereign work of God the Holy Spirit, what better feast to celebrate its anniversary than the day that Holy Mother the Catholic Church commemorates the Descent of the Holy Spirit, which is the beginning of His work: the Solemnity of Pentecost!
And when was the solemnity celebrated last year, 2018? May 20, the same day that we renewed our wedding vows! Till now, my awe of this coincidence has not died down: how more wonderful and meaningful could it be that my wife and I, members of BCBP, a member of CCRM, renewed our wedding vows as we commemorated the descent of the Holy Spirit, who renews, in the Most Holy Eucharist celebrating the solemnity?
Feast of Weeks
If I remember correctly, there were 13 married couples who committed to joining BCMR 23. One backed out and one was undecided. When the retreat began, we were only 11 couples. Thank God the undecided couple decided to join in the evening of the first day. Till the end, we were 12.
Anyway, I mentioned earlier that God the Holy Spirit descended on the Blessed Virgin Mary, the apostles, and the disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ “while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks.” Otherwise known as Shavu’ot, the Feast of Weeks is a Jewish festival that happens fifty days after the Feast of Passover. It commemorates God, through the prophet Moses, establishing a covenant with the descendants of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob in Sinai. The Jews believed that God gave the Law to Moses on the Feast of Weeks, which eventually led to the birth of the nation of Israel, the name God gave to Jacob. Since Holy Mother the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of Pentecost fifty days after the Sunday of Resurrection and the Jews celebrate the Feast of Weeks fifty days after Passover, the solemnity is the new Feast of Weeks.
Now, do you remember how many tribes made up Israel? Twelve. Yes, 12 tribes exchanged vows with God in a covenant! How many married couples participated in BCMR 23? Twelve. Yes, 12 married couples renewed their vows with God and with each other in a marriage covenant! When did we renew our wedding vows? On the Solemnity of Pentecost, the new Feast of Weeks!
Till now, my awe of this coincidence has not died down: how more wonderful and meaningful is it that my wife and I were among 12 couples who renewed their wedding vows as we commemorated the descent of the Holy Spirit, who renews, in the Most Holy Eucharist celebrating its solemnity, the new Feast of Weeks?
Pamalaye
On the last day of BCMR 23, before the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist for the Solemnity of Pentecost and the renewal of wedding vows began, there was this moment that overwhelmed me with joy and wonder more than any other time in the retreat. It broke me down in tears, and I had to squat fully to steady myself. You see, this moment took me back in a rush to my pamalaye, the Filipino custom of going to the home of your fiancée; meeting her, her parents, and the rest of her family; and announcing your decision to marry her (and share some of the plans of the wedding and whatnot). Also, this moment recalled to my mind Proverbs 5:18-19:
Rejoice in the wife of your youth . . . at all times; may you be intoxicated always by her love.
Could the Lord have made it any clearer and louder? “Remember the wedding proposal and the wedding itself and everything in between? Remember how you were dying inside to be with each other for life? I want that passion back now! It’s the whole point of the retreat!”
How I wish I could say more, but all I can say is that till now, my awe of this coincidence has not died down: how more wonderful and meaningful could it be that my wife and I renewed their wedding vows, emphatically reminded of my pamalaye, as we commemorated the descent of God the Holy Spirit, who renews, in the Most Holy Eucharist celebrating its solemnity?
A Retreat to Remember
For almost two years since we joined BCBP, fellow members kept trying to whet our curiosity and anticipation for BCMR. Having already known what happens in a typical retreat for married Catholics from testimonies of many participants in other lay Catholic groups, I kept my expectations reasonably low. Never did I realize what the Lord prepared for me on the last night and on the last day of the retreat. I am embarrassed to admit afterwards that I did not to expect the Lord to exceed my expectations.
I hope the Lord exceeds yours as well.