True Joy

               This morning I saw true joy on the face of an acquaintance from my parish.  I first met this young man at a party in December for members of the Men’s Group at church along with their spouses or significant others.  He came alone, perhaps desiring to have the Christian companionship.  As I spoke with him, he seemed rather reticent and quiet.  We talked about faith, and I spoke of my vocation as a lay Dominican. He was seeking meaning and direction for his life. In the following weeks, I would see him occasionally around the parish.

               In mid-Winter, I saw him at the Dominican House of Studies.  He was attending a vocation event for men who are considering the priesthood.  I certainly gave him credit for seeking God’s will, but he looked out of place to me.  I was not surprised to see that he was not among the Dominican novice candidates for the coming year, but wondered about his journey.

               I had not seen him in the parish for months and just last week wondered what had happened to him.  The Washington DC area is so transient, many times young men and women are here for a year or three and then they disappear, some going back home and others onto another adventure. 

               I was sitting in the church parking lot this morning after mass, waiting for the torrential rain to end so I could exchange something with a friend.  I saw this young man greet another man outside the church with a hug and then he introduced a young women.  From a distance, I had to look twice to recognize him.  His smile made his face glow, his posture was straighter than I remembered and he had a confidence that was new to me.

               As the rain let up, I ran to the church and exchanged the item with my friend.  On the way out, the young woman was extending her left had to someone.  I didn’t want to interrupt, and just waved and was delighted to see true joy on his face.  My acquaintance is newly engaged.  He and his faithful Catholic fiancé had come to church to meet with the priest to begin preparation for marriage.

               It is my prayer that their preparation will not be for the day they exchange their vows, but for a lifetime relationship lived in communion with our Lord.  I had been married for more than a decade before I truly understood the peace and beauty of a sacramental marriage.  It is my hope that this man and woman have a sacrament marriage from the very beginning.

               It is how it is meant to be from Matthew 19:5, 'That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh'.  May today’s joy be present throughout their life time together!