Newlyweds Serve at WYD Lisbon After Getting Engaged at Previous WYD - Their Message for Discerning Couples
María Luisa García and Roger Ponce got engaged at World Youth Day in Panama in 2019.
Four years later, they return to World Youth Day as a married couple, giving their service to the Church.
The young couple from Honduras told ChurchPOP that they were celebrating their anniversary. They returned to World Youth Day so they could serve again, but this time, as a married couple.
“It is a very wonderful experience. We decided that we had to celebrate our anniversary in a big way. Even more so, putting our feet, our hands, in the World Youth Day volunteer service," Ponce said.
The young people met at the Pontifical Mission Societies, and currently continue to persevere in the Holy Family community of the Catholic Encounter for Engaged Couples in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
A Message for Discerning Couples
Roger spoke to young people who have not yet said yes to marriage and encouraged them to take that leap of faith.
"In our life, many times, we will have difficulties. Many times, we will not understand the Lord's call...but it is saying 'yes' like Mary and not being afraid," he said.
"Many times fear does not let us move forward, but that 'yes,' even with fear, the Lord takes it and puts it at the service of others," he added.
María Luisa stressed the importance of living a discernment process, to know what God really wants for each other, and remarked that, as a married couple, the most beautiful thing is to "serve as a sacrament."
“We had other ideas, I being a religious--being a Missionary Ad Gentes--and in the end, we decided to be a committed missionary couple and enjoy it as a married couple,” she added.