Post for November 21, 2009
Today (Saturday) I once again had the beautiful opportunity to welcome a new member of the Christian family: baby Josef, the son of Terri and Fred (whose wedding I celebrated last year). It was like a spiritual reunion, a really joyful celebration of faith. And then, of course, there was the meal! The baptism in the early afternoon, so we got to the restaurant by about 2:30 pm. The promptly began eating… and eating… and eating! And I must confess, I have a weakness for Lebanese food, so I ate… and ate… and ate! I finally had to roll out of there about three hours later, and the main course hadn’t even yet arrived. You know, the Bible says that the Kingdom of God is like a banquet. Well, this new Christian, this new human that God has chosen in a special way for heaven, certainly gave us the occasion to have a taste of that abundance. Congrats to the family, and many thanks for inviting me to be a part of this special moment!
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Post for October 24, 2009
A few years ago I accepted, somewhat at the last minute, to teach an introduction to theology course at Concordia University. Years later, one of the happy consequences of that decision was the opportunity I had today to preside the wedding of one of my students, Jennifer, now married to Michael.
Congrats to the happy couple, my 42nd!
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Post for September 27, 2009
I presided Stan and Mirella’s wedding a few years ago, and today I had the honour of baptising their first little one — baby Giulia! What a sweetie. The ceremony was followed by a delicious supper over at their place, and I must say I felt really at home. It is very special to be able to be part of my married couples’ lives in this way, and I already have an invitation to go back for a house blessing. And I have two more baptisms coming up in October as well! Yee haw!
UPDATE: A picture of the blessed event!
Can’t you just spot the Holy Spirit descending? 
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Post for September 26, 2009
I had the honour of presiding the wedding of these two this afternoon:
I had to arrive late for the reception due to a visit I needed to make to a funeral home, but I must say I was treated like royalty. Vic works in the restaurant business, so he knows how to make you feel right at a banquet, and it turns out some of the people who were at my table knew me from a previous pastoral assignment. We all had a really good time, and I wish my 41st couple well. We shall stay in touch!
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Post for September 13, 2009
Well, we did it — the 6th annual “Father Tom married couples reunion” was a big success! It was a lot of work, and there were a few organizational mistakes on my part, but I am so grateful to all those who helped, as well as a special thank you to Corpus Christi parish and its pastor, Father Benoit Morrier, for the use of their facilities.
I’ve known Carol since we were twelve, and I had the honour of preaching at her wedding many moons ago.
One thing I love about this event is how the couples are becoming families. The little girl on the right was the first child to attend one of these reunions — in utero, mind you!
I just want to give a shout out to Lisa and Michael, and their little ones Jacob and Emma. Thanks for showing up so early to help set things up, and for staying late to help close things down.
Remember what I said about growing families? Congrats to (centre) Terri and Fred for little Josef, and to (far sides) George and Sonia for soon-to-be-seeing-the-light-of-day little Thomas. (Well, they haven’t actually yet decided to name him Thomas, but I’ve been encouraging them in that direction. )
We had a ton of food, and a good time was had by all. I’m looking forward to next year already, and by then my 40 couples will have grown to 43 (at least). I love all my couples, and pray for their happiness and success.
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Post for September 9, 2009
I spent most of this evening calling my couples, to remind them of the BBQ on the weekend and to see what they could bring (appetizer, salad, dessert). It looks like it will be a smaller group this year, but that’s ok — in many cases it is different people who are coming this time, so I’m delighted nonetheless. Look for pictures in an upcoming post!
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Post for August 29, 2009
I spent a good part of this evening calling my married couples to invite them to my annual reunion. I enjoy this reunion, and even the process of organizing it, even if it takes time. It gives me a chance to catch up with people. I’ve been blessed to preside or preach at 40 weddings now. Given the babies that have since come, if only half show up I’ll have a good 50-60 people present.
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Post for June 13, 2009
I had the honour of attending the wedding of two people whom I consider friends: Corey and Cathy! Congratulations!
The dinner was delicious, and the ambiance was a combination Italian-Caribbean mix. One nice surprise was running into Roland Wills, a former professor of mine from my days studying commerce at Concordia:
Once the meal was basically over it was time to hit the dance floor, with the groom leading the way:
Now you won’t see any pictures of me dancing, not because I don’t know how to have fun at weddings, but because I’m the one taking the pictures! But there is one photo I could not resist. This 3 year old girl and I got along famously at the wedding, and at one point she just wandered onto the dance floor not quite knowing what to do. So she became my dance partner — up on my shoulders! Take a look at the grin on that face:
It wasn’t all just parties, of course. Although I did not preside the ceremony itself, I was generously given the opportunity to preach the homily (which I recorded, and which you can listen to by clicking on this link). I went home between the wedding and the reception and burnt a CD with the homily on it, as my personal wedding gift to the couple.
Congrats once again to Corey and Cathy!
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Post for March 28, 2009
Congratulations to the bride and groom, who were married today. While I did not preside their wedding, I did have the honour of preparing them for the celebration, and so I preached the homily and (in addition) scored an invite to the reception. Ah, it felt good to be back in the swing of things. I love weddings!
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