Pre-cana Seminar at San Agustin Church

I'm writing this two to three weeks late so forgive me for not keeping track of all the major and minute details. Our attendance to the San Agustin Church's Pre Cana seminar was pre-arranged by our coordinator Jhune Salud.

Though it's at the opposite end of the Metro Manila map from where we are to be wed, it was probably the only one out that that 1) had a good name and 2) was open on Saturdays. Winy was in town for only a couple of days and after securing our marriage license from the Pasay City Hall and going through the Canonical Interview at the Mt. Carmel Parish in Quezon City, the seminar was the 3rd piece to the paperwork puzzle we needed to accomplish before Winy flew out of the country to go back to work again (the 4th being the Banns Publication).

Okay, so we arrived at around 7:30 a.m. early enough to hear the first English mass of the day. Winy went inside to pray while I opted to put in some extra sleep in the car because it was going to be a hellaciously long day for us (Pre cana in the morning at San Agustin, final food tasting and contract signing at Center Table in the afternoon in Paranaque and lastly, a long drive to Calumpit, Bulacan).

A few minutes later the mass ended (guess it started around 6:30 or 7, kudos to those who were there) and Winy was knocking on the car window. There was another couple looking confused and asking the guard on duty so Winy decided to ask them if they were also there for the seminar. They were having a conversation in front of the car so, though sleepy, I got my ass off my seat and exchanged pleasantries with the couple whose names I cannot recall.

Since the seminar (or the Parish Office) wouldn't open until 8:30 a.m. Winy wanted to have breakfast at McDonald's. Guess she frequented it a lot back when she was still with Manila Bulletin because my bride was on "I need to eat. Now." mode and was telling me which corner/street to drive into.

She had a lot, while I opted for hot chocolate. Once we arrived back at the church there were more cars now and the office was open. I really didn't feel the need to eat in fear of my weak stomach so I just told Winy to hold on to the food.

Inside there were a lot of couples seated and some inside this glass-windowed office with about four or five desks with elderly men and women smiling at one another. Guess this was the Registration part of the seminar. When it was our turn, I gave my McD's breakfast of hot chocolate and hashbrown to the old lady.

Okay, on to the seminar.

We were asked to proceed inside some sort of classroom that had two huge statues by each side of the white board. The Virgin Mary on the left, and I don't know which Virgin was on the right. We waited for everyone else to walk into the room before our teacher, Teacher Flo I think, I'm not really sure with her name but she was very engaging and entertaining.

Since we started late, out teacher was obviously rushing. We went over the following in a scatter-brained order:

I. Catechism (7 sacraments/ initiation)
1. Baptism
2. Confirmation
3. Holy Eucharist/ Communion (Sacrament of Healing)
4. Confession/ Reconciliation
5. Anointing of the Sick (Commitment/ Vocation)
6. Marriage/ Matrimony
7. Holy Order

II. 3 Missions after Baptism
1. Priestly
2. Prophetic
3. Kingly

III. 7 Gifts of Confirmation
IV. 2 Parts of the Mass
1. Liturgy of the Word
2. Liturgy of the Eucharist

V. Reconciliation for Catholics

VI. Virtues of Marriage
1. Chastity
2. Poverty
3. Obedience

Can't say that I listened to all of the above; quite surprised that I even took down notes for it. But everyone who was there really wanted to learn and listen to what the teacher had to say. She's been married for over 20 years now, had a very trying time early because her husband had many vices, but they're still together and enjoying their retirement so to speak which is something I could only dream of right now with Winy.

We took a short break at around 10:30 a.m.; the kind people of San Agustin Church prepared light snacks of ham and cheese sandwiches and iced tea for everyone. I finally ate but only after receiving affirmation that the parish had working toilets. Winy was eating again-- a happy, healthy bride is always a good one rather than dealing with a figure-conscious train wreck.

Back to the seminar and our teach explained how hard it is at times as a married couple because you only have each other to rely on. That there will be times, specially for women, that they'll have to swallow their pride and just give their husbands a pass. There's also sex. Men want sex everyday. Women will just have to be creative with their excuses and alibis but while also knowing when to give in.

We were done by 12 p.m. and received our certificates right away. The groom-to-be of the couple we spoke with earlier led the closing player and his bride couldn't have looked any prouder. Winy was probably wondering why I didn't volunteer. Or maybe I'm just over thinking things. I'm good with speeches, can't say the same with prayers.

San Agustin Church gave us a booklet to read and a bunch of papers on the pros and cons of the RH Bill. Haven't read 'em but will get to that soon.

:)

Marriage License and Canonical Interview

It's been a while since I last updated this blog, been busy juggling everything on my plate lately and it has admittedly taken its toll (my doting mom has taken notice and has placed me under a mandatory StressTabs diet). Working on the wedding without your partner isn't fun. We've been arguing a lot, mostly because of my temper that has worsened over the weeks. Is "worsened" even a word?

Fortunately, my fiancee has been nothing short of being an saint and has put up with all my short-fused ways. She calls me "groom-zilla," I just take it all in stride. Better me than her-- if only because I fear that she'd go on a mad killing spree had she been in my place.

A few days ago, Winy flew back home so we could work on the requirements for the wedding (which is now only two months away). First on the list was the Marriage License to be secured from our city hall. Since I'm the one who's Manila-based and our coordinator, Jhune Salud is also from the area, we opted to apply at the Pasay City Hall instead of the one in faraway Calumpit, Bulacan.

We met Jhune at Jollibee Roxas Boulevard corner Libertad at around 11 a.m. on a Monday (I obviously took the day off) and were asked to accomplish three different sets of application forms. Jhune kept reminding us to double check our answers since he only had the ones that we were already writing on. I kept badgering Winy about it, only to be the one to commit an erasure a few minutes later.

Hah. Serves me right.

Okay, so we took Jhune's AUV to City Hall (I made up a lame excuse that the car wasn't available-- in reality, we just didn't want to go through the ordeals of having to find decent parking space at the City Hall) and went inside to go to this place where they have your papers processed. You can visit the Pasay City government website (Google!), they'll pretty much walk you through the whole thing (akalain mo yun! Aim High Pasay!) and the best part- they DON'T TAKE LUNCHBREAKS. Yep. The poor souls were still there even if it was already 12:30 p.m. Have to give them credit for that.

Anyway, Jhune pretty much walked us through the whole thing and it didn't take very long from there. I wrote a letter of authorization so Jhune could take care of obtaining our license and what not. If you're from the Pasay area and are looking for a solid wedding coordinator who'll take care of the requirements, then Jhune is definitely your guy.

Okay, next on the "to do" list was acing the Canonical Interview.

Jhune had us scheduled for October 4, Thursday and told us to be at Mt. Carmel Parish (in Project 6, Quezon City) at exactly 7:30 a.m. sharp. We were there by 7:15, and were surprised to find out that they don't open until 8:30 or 9 a.m. Oh well. Better early than late right?

First, we were given three to four pages worth (multiple choice AND ESSAY) of questions on what we thought about love, marriage, sex and parenting. I didn't really have a hard time answering the questions since it all came pretty natural (hey, we're in love, we want to get married, so it was all relative from there). Winy had a bit of trouble with the essay part, but only because she was dead sleepy.

Next was the interview with the priest. Winy went first and took about forty-five minutes. FORTY FIVE MINUTES talking to a priest. Yikes. A taho vendor stopped right in front of me so I bought myself one and another for Winy when she finishes with her interview.

Few minutes later and she walks out, stone-faced and tells me that I'm up. She gets to eating the taho while I make my way to the room inside the Parish Office.

A lot of questions, nothing I couldn't answer really. But then, there's the trick question: ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF DIVORCES?

The practical, JOURNALIST in me said "Yes Father, I am. But only if it's really broken."

This answer apparently raised all sorts of red flags to the point wherein the priest said, "I cannot allow you to marry under this church."

Instant kambio. He's a priest. I went to the school of lying, cheating and stealing (re: I wanted to be a lawyer once). Game on.

So I reasoned out with him, which took an extra twenty minutes, before he finally gave in. I don't know if he was just messing with me or what not, or if he could really cancel our wedding with that one question (and my reply), but I was really scared. What if Winy answered differently? How would I break the news that the priest cancelled/ rejected our wedding because I messed up?

Buti na lang.

Once we got over the "I'm not going to break-up your wedding" bit, Father Ferdie (?) called for Winy to come in so he could interview us both. It was really light, and he explained how, if we were to get him as our priest for the actual wedding, he wasn't big on the whole profound sermons and stuff. He's not a fan of all the singing too. He's as straight-up as they come, and is all about getting the bride and groom married. End of story.

Well, I like it that way. I had to check first with Winy if she was okay with this and she said she was. That's when Father Ferdie said that they raffle the wedding among priests (Father Andoy and another one). So even if we wanted to get a certain priest from Mt. Carmel, it would still be up to the "random" draw.

Ok. Cool. Let's get married!

Next, the pre-cana seminar. Which my friend Cita tells me is NOT about "seminar bago kana-in si asawa" :)