About 50 parishioners, including 20 newly married couples, their CMPC presenters, and families, gathered for the CMPC Advent Gathering themed “Connected in Faith, Growing in Love.” The evening brought together couples who completed CMPC between 2023 and 2025 for a time of reflection, fellowship, and renewed community support.
The gathering began with warm icebreakers that helped couples reconnect across different CMPC batches. This was followed by an Advent reflection led by parish CMPC coordinators Christopher and Diana, who invited couples to pause from the busyness of life and revisit the sacred foundation of their marriage.
“Once the confetti has settled, the guests have gone home, and marriage has begun, couples often spend their days running from task to task, taking care of everything except the quiet spaces of their hearts, marriage, and home.”
Advent, they reminded the participants, is the Church’s gentle invitation to slow down and make room in our hearts once more. The reflection centred on Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy, the four gifts every marriage needs. Another representative from the Family Life Ministry, Egbert and Elena, shared how marriage transforms love from who we were before into who God calls us to become together.
As the Advent candles were lit, couples shared heartfelt testimonies.
One couple spoke of how God sustained them through the heartbreak of multiple miscarriages until the birth of their first child. “Hope, to us, was the steady belief that God was working, even when we could not see it yet.”
Another couple reflected on the true meaning of peace. “Peace is not the absence of stress, but finding calm in the midst of life’s storms. For us, it is taking a dance break in a stressful moment, something Mary and Joseph probably wished they could do while searching for a place for the birth of Jesus.”
Couples were reminded that Love grows not through grand gestures, but through the small, consistent sacrifices made daily. Joy, they discovered, was found not in perfection, but in gratitude and in recognising God in simple moments.
“Some couples found joy in the tender news of a pregnancy, through the precious smiles of their little ones even on the most exhausting days, and in the quiet grace of reconciliation, gentle reminders that God weaves joy into our days in ways we never anticipated, right when we need it most.”
The event was honoured by the presence of our parish priest, Rev. Fr. George Harrison, whose unwavering support and encouragement allowed couples to feel deeply welcomed and loved within the Church community.
As the evening drew to a close, each couple received a potted plant, a sign that, like every living thing that thrives from strong roots, a marriage rooted in Christ will grow and bear the fruits of Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy.
The night ended with warm fellowship and the singing of Christmas carols. For one couple, the melodies stirred tender memories of their youth, when they first met while carolling, a reminder that God Himself authors our love stories and delights in renewing the love He first planted.
In the spirit of Advent, the gathering affirmed the beauty of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
“Marriage begins with Hope, requires Peace, thrives on Love, and blossoms into Joy, and we thank God for the sacrament that pours grace into every chapter of our love story.”
Christopher and Diana