In our Latin America, there is a sad reality: marriage is a very scary step. That is why they spend years, even decades as cohabitants being already very old. This is the case of a couple of 67 years old: Valentina and Victor.

Mother Celina and Mother Felicidad would be the ones destined to go on mission to the town of Chaynabamba, which is located in Julcamarca, at more than 3400 meters above sea level in our Peruvian Andes. The mission would last about three days, since we were going to prepare our faithful for the bishop’s visit.

There would be baptisms and therefore we had to prepare the parents and godparents with their respective talks. The requirements for the godparents are that they be married or single but not cohabiting. And this is where Don Victor comes into the picture. He had been asked to be godfather to one of his nephews. Knowing that since he was a cohabitant he could not be one, he said he was single. But as the lie has “short legs” he ended up confessing that he had four children, before the little mothers discovered his deception.

– Mr. Victor, you will excuse me, but cohabitants cannot be godparents, unless you are getting married tomorrow, before the baptism,” said the Mother.

Victor remained thoughtful, but there was a certain emotion in his eyes.

– And how do I do the talks,” said Victor.

– I can give you the talk whenever you want, but for that the lady has to come,” said the Mother.

Victor arrived home in shock and said to the lady:

– Valentina, tomorrow we are getting married.

As she had never heard such a proposal, she paid no attention to him and continued working. Don Victor repeats the same thing again.

– Tomorrow we are getting married Valentina and you do not pay any attention to me.

When she heard this, all she could do was hug him and began to cry with emotion. To get married, go to confession and receive communion was the deepest longing of her heart, but she did not see that same longing in her husband, so she had already lost hope.

Our faithful are simple and not very expressive people, so sometimes it is difficult for them to enter into dialogue with each other. They quickly went to the church to request the talks for their marriage -which in reality was a regularization- more than thirty years together and four children in common, they only lacked God’s blessing. The whole town knew them, and there were no impediments for the wedding to take place, but since they were embarrassed, they begged that all the talks, ceremony and celebrations be held in private. Only the “compadres-to-be” and the groom’s parents attended. They went to confession, received communion, contracted their nuptials and were godparents, all in one day. Abundant blessings all in one fell swoop. Many details of what we are telling today were related by the “girlfriend of this story”, Valentina, who was happy about everything that had happened. The most notable change was in Don Victor, who is seen cleaning the Church, worrying about us when we go to visit the community, even expressing the desire to be a catechist, going to confession and receiving communion when the priest goes.

Sometimes our faithful need a little nudge. God used Victor’s desire to be a sponsor to express an even deeper desire: to marry to live in God’s grace.