NATIONAL VOCATIONS AWARENESS WEEK
Sunday 2 August – Sunday 9 August 2015
Faith brings Angel and Rowena closer to God and each other
Angel and Rowena Penano
Rowena and Angel Penano are parents to Anwen, Owen
and Gwen. The couple renewed their wedding vows on
their 10th anniversary.
More than 12 years ago, we willingly
entered into matrimony with little
certainty about what would unfold.
All we really knew was that we loved
each other deeply, we had fun together,
we complemented each other’s
personalities and we had a tiny inkling
that God had plans for us.
We continued to mature and
develop in many aspects of life – as an
individuals, as a couple, in our careers
and in life experiences.
We considered ourselves fortunate
that our spiritual life also continued to
grow, even if it may not have kept pace
with the other aspects of life.
We credit our involvement to
an ecclesial community called
Verbum Dei, whose members have
accompanied us in our journey to
seek a more meaningful life, the
existential aspects of life – faith,
truth, God and purpose.
Our faith became more ‘real’ in our
lives; it became bigger than concepts
and ideology and took on a deeper
meaning and significance.
Our relationship with our Trinitarian
God and Mother Mary has become
deeper through prayer and the Bible.
As we each became closer to God,
we found ourselves being closer to each
other too. This is a testament of what
faith can do.
Our marriage continues to evolve
and we try to create more space for
God to be part of it, to try and listen
more for His will and to discern His
plan for us.
On our 10th wedding anniversary
we decided to renew our wedding
vows; to celebrate the love that
continues. The same words, the same
hearts but somehow wiser, the same
vows, the same faith but somehow
profoundly deeper.
We are slowly realising some of the
truths of what a Catholic marriage
means, and the potential and ideals
that Jesus intended for married couples
as a true union where we continue to
strive to be ‘one’ with each other.
We are firm believers in the grace
God gives to married couples. We
have used it many times to survive
gridlocks and serious challenges
throughout our marriage!
This grace enables us to go beyond
what we’re capable of individually
and allows us to look beyond our
differences and see the dignity in each
other and in our children.
We feel our marriage is similar
to when Jesus sends His followers
in pairs (Luke 10:1-2).
Together we have been forging a
bond to love each other as Christ
loves His Church and raising our three
beautiful children in faith.
Our hope is to be able to serve the
Lord and give testimony to all the
blessings He has given us, together
with our children, in our ordinary
everyday life.
For us, being pre-marriage educators
with CatholicCare Parramatta is
one concrete way to respond to the
experiences of God’s love in our lives.
When we see or hear about broken
relationships, or broken families,
whether in the media or people we
encounter, we feel a call to action – it
doesn’t have to be so.
Pre-marriage education presents us
with an avenue to share the good news
of hope, love and joy that Jesus revealed
in the Bible and our Catholic tradition,
as well as to continually enrich our own
faith and marriage as we journey and
learn from other couples.
* Angel and Rowena Penano have
been married for 12 years. They are
parents to Anwen, Owen and Gwen and
are parishioners at Our Lady Queen of
Peace Parish, Greystanes.
They are involved with Verbum
Dei Community, St Vincent de Paul
Society, CatholicCare Social Services
Diocese of Parramatta and the
Institute for Mission.
Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary
OUR MISSION: To imitate Mary who is the perfect feminine embodiment of Christ and the response
to the anthropological challenges of our times. Like her, we wish to help Christ in His redemptive
mission and lead all people to the heart of the Eternal Father.
OUR DAILY LIFE: Our lifestyle encompasses a balance of prayer, work & community life. We may work
in any professional sphere appropriate for women or in the formation of girls, women and families.
SCHOENSTATT means 'beautiful place' and refers to our place of origin in Germany. It also challenges
us to conquer true beauty and regain the likeness of God. There are over 200 Schoenstatt shrines in
5 continents and around 2,000 sisters around the world from 39 countries.
For more information contact Sr.M.Julie Brcar [email protected]
www.schoenstatt.org.au | www.s-ms.org
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