Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

There is no day you are ‘meant’ to get married

byJoe Higgins
13 June 2020 - Updated on 25 March 2021
Reading Time: 3 mins read
AA

Preparing for a wedding: Catherine Santos and Joe Higgins at St Stephen’s Cathedral on the day of the proposal.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Preparing for a wedding: Catherine Santos and Joe Higgins at St Stephen’s Cathedral on the day of the proposal.

I WAS meant to get married this weekend.


My fiancée and I had picked out June 13 as our wedding date, which seemed providential because we picked it without realising it was the feast day of St Anthony of Padua.

This was symbolically significant to me.

I had schooled at Padua College and had even been to Padua, Italy, on a pilgrimage when I was in high school; the pilgrimage had a significant impact on my faith.

We had even chosen Franciscan Father Harry Chan as our wedding celebrant.

I had joked that with St Anthony as our patron – patron of lovers and lost things – I had no reason to forget the anniversary in the future.

But as coronavirus restrictions set in and churches, shops, dressmakers, tailors, jewellers, florists, and everyone else shut up shop, we decided it would be wise to push the date back.

The bottle shops were still open, so we would never land ourselves in a Cana debacle, God-willing.

I remember we only had two expectations for our wedding – firstly, that it was going to be a nuptial Mass, and secondly, that we had some family there with us to celebrate.

My fiancée had often reassured me that she “had no dream wedding” planned out in her head.

Related Stories

Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation

Passion Play is a part of village life for actor who will play Jesus

Ukraine war forces surrogate mothers and parents to face tragic choices

She often told me that her only dream was to plan the wedding with the person God chose for her and come what may.

She is a blessing.

As the government grappled with early coronavirus reports and lockdowns, we quickly cancelled our wedding reception to retrieve our deposit and plotted a route towards a new wedding date – July 18.

I skimmed through the list of saints feasting that day and found no instantly recognisable names; the saints I had read about for that day held none of the significance that St Anthony had.

Of all the trivialities we had endured, that one was a letdown.

It was more of a letdown than the reception venue being cancelled, more than the catering we had prepared, more than even the playlist I had carefully crafted in secret.

On some level, I think we all want our special moments to carry symbolic significance.

For me, St Anthony’s feast day represented that desire.

I was denied it.

I’m glad I was denied it.

It was pride working its way into something holy, new and life-giving; it had no place at our wedding.

The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away, so says Job.

It’s not for us to say what’s meant to happen.

Frankly, it did not matter what date the wedding was nor which saints were feasting.

The day was going to be special because it was going to be the day my fiancée and I would wed in the eyes of God and the Church; we would receive Eucharist together as a married couple for the first time; we would promise ourselves to each other until death parts us.

Everything else was just trifles.

I was not meant to get married this weekend, if for no other reason than to learn a good lesson about surrendering to God.

I am counting my blessings and asking everyone to pray for us as we head towards the altar on July 18.

ShareTweet
Previous Post

HomeBuilder package misses the mark​ for the poor, Vinnies says

Next Post

Refugee Week shines brightly on Axel with news about his family

Joe Higgins

Related Posts

Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation
People

Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation

15 May 2022
Passion Play is a part of village life for actor who will play Jesus
Culture

Passion Play is a part of village life for actor who will play Jesus

6 May 2022
Ukraine war forces surrogate mothers and parents to face tragic choices
Hot Topics

Ukraine war forces surrogate mothers and parents to face tragic choices

24 March 2022 - Updated on 28 March 2022
Next Post

Refugee Week shines brightly on Axel with news about his family

Gabrielle is walking with others in discovering their own personal relationship with God

Faithful gathering safely as more churches open their doors and restrictions ease on funerals in Queensland

Popular News

  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI turned 95 on a ‘very happy’ day

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Holiness is possible and the Church provides tools to attain it, cardinal says

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health
QLD

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

by Joe Higgins
19 May 2022
0

FAITHFUL nationwide were getting out their rosary beads for a prayer event in honour of Australia’s patroness...

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022
Holiness is possible and the Church provides tools to attain it, cardinal says

Holiness is possible and the Church provides tools to attain it, cardinal says

18 May 2022
Church workers have helped more than 1.2 million Ukrainians during the war, Caritas says

Church workers have helped more than 1.2 million Ukrainians during the war, Caritas says

18 May 2022
Minority Catholic woman takes pride in Asia’s overlooked saints

Minority Catholic woman takes pride in Asia’s overlooked saints

18 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping