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Community Wedding Ceremony at Saint Lawrence’s Church 

Five Filipino couples 

On a sunny June afternoon, the pews of Saint Lawrence’s Church were filled to capacity as five Filipino couples exchanged vows in a (Kasalang Bayan) community wedding ceremony. The couples, who had been attending marriage preparation classes together for the past few months, decided to hold a joint ceremony to celebrate their commitment to one another surrounded by family and friends.

"Planning a wedding can be so stressful, so we thought it would be nice to go through it together," said one of the brides. "Having the support of the other couples made the process so much smoother."

The joint ceremony was the idea of the chaplain to the Filipino migrants in Macau, Fr Raymund E. Gaspar, who wanted to find a way to make marriage preparation more communal for his parishioners. "Modern weddings can be very individualistic, but marriage is a profound vocation that the whole community has a stake in," he explained. "I thought bringing these couples together would strengthen the bonds between them and with the Filipino faith community as a whole." The couples have been living together and some of them have been married civilly. Some, for economic reasons have deprived themselves of a wedding ceremony in the church because of tight budget. Holding on to the Filipino custom and tradition of holding a big celebration during wedding and bountiful receptions. Fr Raymund was able to convince and lead the couple to believe that the reception is not the most important part of the wedding but the sacrament. From this standpoint, marriage as a sacrament means that man and wife enter a convent when they marry. This is more than just a contract, he said; it refers to the marriage between a husband and wife as a permanent union in which both people know and love each other and God. More specifically, Catholic belief is that the sacrament of Marriage means that a man and woman are bound together in a covenant under God and the Church. The covenant of marriage is so strong that it can never be broken, the loving priest added. 

Fr Raymund was joined as concelebrants by Fr Joey Mandia, Fr Jasper Santos and Fr Leonard Dollentas during the wedding mass. 

The meaningful wedding celebration was made possible through the Pastoral Care for Filipino Migrant and the different organizations at the Filipino Pastoral Center. After months of meetings, the different teams organized by Fr Raymund worked together to plan every aspect of the ceremony, from the flower arrangements to the music selection. On the big day, the five couples processed into the church side-by-side, exchanging rings and reciting their vows.

"It was such a special experience to be able to celebrate this momentous day with our new 'wedding party’ We'll always have this community of couples to lean on as we begin our marriages," said one of the grooms after the Mass.

Following the ceremony, the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed a reception, complete with a group wedding cake and toasts to the happy couples. Many attendees remarked on the joyful, intimate atmosphere of the event.

"You could really feel the love and support in the room," said Cynthia, mother of the bride. "These couples have formed such a wonderful bond, and the parish is so lucky to have them."

As the sun set, the couples bid farewell, ready to embark on their new lives together - with a little help from their wedding companions.

From: “O Clarim” Year 76 Issue 3

Publication Date: 26^th July 2024

Fr Joey Mandia and the newlyweds