Parents attempt to fulfill their duty of getting their children married when they come of marriageable age. But the searchlight for a perfect partner is a difficult hunt! A friend of mine who had firm family principles was in the knotty situation when he had to face proposals for her daughter. The searchlight for a perfect partner was an impossible hunt for him; because no person in this world is perfect except God. Secondly, some were rejected on flimsy custom of selections as: “Mai o que usa? Vestido? Ou Sari? Pai o que fala? Ingles? Portugues? ou Konkani?. (What does the mother wear? Frock or sari? What does the father speak? English? Portuguese? Or Konkani?).
Some believed in stars in choosing the “soul mate”; human love has its origins on terra firm rather than on the stars of the universe. Others wished to match their children in man-made divisions; in different layers of society caste, creed, colour and so on to satisfy their family desires. Social status issues also arose, as decisive factor, for the boy or girl at the time of matchmaking. Nowadays, there are online matchmakers. However, parents refuse to accept ‘sour grapes’ for their children. So, they turn to God.
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The son-of-the-soil, St Joseph Vaz was canonised by Pope Francis in 2015. Two years after that, I went with my family, to his sanctuary at Sancoale. Here below, I give my gentle readers a glimpse of what happened at the shrine. I prayed that my spinster daughter may soon pair off through his intercession.
A prayer is a talk. So, I implored thus: “My youngest daughter is of marriageable age. I am a sinner; therefore, I ask you, St Jose Vaz, keep my petition before Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as she said to Jesus at the wedding in Cana: “They have no more wine,” she will say to Jesus: ‘Their youngest daughter has not yet found a suitable match.’ After this short, self-made prayer from my heart and subsequent to the service at the shrine, we walked out to the stall below.
There in the crowd, my married daughter was buying a rosary from one of the stalls; someone from the crowd bumped into her. She recognised the friend whom she had almost lost contact some years ago. After exchange of pleasantries, this friend, saw my spinster daughter and said to us: “We are looking out for a girl for our son.”
My wife responded, “We are looking out for a boy for our daughter.” There it was, by the mercy of God, in a way utterly beyond anyone’s understanding, the match clicked.
The marriage matched in heaven was executed on earth that same year. We consider this coincidence as a miracle and bear witness to it; and many believed that it was so, but others said that it was just a happening. It is said that the writer looks at life’s beauty through words; the believer through faith; the unbeliever, perhaps through ideals. No explanation is necessary to those who believe it to be a miracle; and no explanation is possible to those who do not believe it to be a miracle.
