On September 8, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I was married to Megan in front of our family and friends at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church. Even though the air condition wasn’t working in the church and it was 106 degrees outside, it was a glorious day, a surreal day, a day we still need more pictures to help us remember all of the beautiful and special people who were able to come to the wedding mass at the parish and the reception that followed. It’s been nearly 3 weeks and there are times of the day that are still coming back to me.

If you are new to my website/blog, I’ve been writing about this special day for months now. Specifically, there is one article I would suggest you read if you haven’t read it already – Brews, a Beauty, and a Beard: A Catholic Love Story. This article explains how Megan and I met and how our relationship grew under the direction of Our Lord through His Blessed Mother. It also explains that growing a beard helped me find my one true love.

One of the many blessings of the day was the presence of the clergy at our wedding mass. As you see from the picture below, there was 1 Bishop, 4 Priests, and 1 Deacon. Bishop Steven J. Lopes, the Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is a close college friend of mine.

Pictured: Megan and I, flanked by our Matron of Honor and Best Man; in the middle: Bishop Steven J. Lopes; on the left: Fr. Mike Malloy and Fr. Bede Clark, OSB; on the right: Fr. Chris Axline, Fr. Will Schmid, and Deacon Kevin Knapp.

Another blessing of the day was that my former boss, and another close friend, Fr. Will Schmid, now Pastor of San Francisco de Asis in Flagstaff, Arizona, was able to be there to preach at our wedding. This is really the entire point of today’s article – to share with you this amazing homily that so many people hoped was recorded and hoped that I would post to this website. If you have never heard Fr. Will preach, he has a true gift for it. His ability to synthesize theological concepts to the everyday life of his listeners is a profound skill. I’ve already listened to this homily 3 times since Monday. Yes, it’s that good!

To listen to the homily, hit the play button below –

Our Lady of Fatima…Pray for Us