Book Reviews

The book comes as a timely articulation of the inner struggles pertaining to marriage preparations that can serve as eye-opener for young women in search for direction in life.

 

The vocation to the married life is not an easy choice.  The implication that it brings carries a lifetime commitment.  Hence, women who are waiting for it need preparation, guidance and inspiration coming from someone who has allowed the Lord and the Church to have an influence in her life’s decisions.  The book of Ms. Gumap-as will certainly be an appropriate companion of women discerning for married life.

 

I, therefore, would like to recommend this book to the young people of the Archdiocese of Cebu.  I am personally convinced that this book will be a valuable material in their discernment on the issue of marriage.

 

- His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, D.D.

  Archbishop of Cebu

It is very seldom to find young people writing about their ideas and convictions.  It is even more so when it comes to finding their ideas in print.

 

But Teresa Gumap-as is a rare exception.  Her book When My Bride Groom Comes is an illustration of such a rarity.

 

Fired with God’s love she writes about her experience of a loving relationship with the Lord and her struggles to sustain it with prayers and sacrifices.

 

It is for this reason that the book is worth reading.  It is a welcome invitation to prayer and reflection even if one may not agree with the writer.

 

- His Excellency Most Reverend Fernando R. Capalla, D.D.

  Archbishop of Davao

True to its title and the author's purpose, the book is intended for single women who are in search and are patiently waiting for their knight-in-shining armor according to the heart of God.  The author teaches would-be brides on how to use wisely this time of their singleness to prepare for their wedding day and married life as well.  This the author does by combining personal experiences of various relationships and deep personal reflections.  The heart of the book can be found in the fifth chapter where the author enumerates and talks about point by point the qualities of a would be wife and mother according to the prescriptions found in Proverbs 31.  Moreover, the Heart Check and Heart's Anchor at the end of every chapter provides the reader questions that would trigger personal assessment and Scriptural passages that would facilitate prayer and reflection.  The reader can also find in the book a rich collection of biblical verses both from the Old and New Testaments.


- His Excellency Most Reverend Socrates Villegas, D.D.
  Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, Pangasinan

Teresa has written a wonderful book, a groundbreaking one for Catholics in fact, to help single women in their search for their lifetime partner. She writes from her experiences, which she always viewed in fact from the lens of God's Word. The original poems and songs included in her book (coming from her many hours of prayer) are a bonus treat. The result is a serious yet readable book, the reading of which can definitely accompany the wait for one's future spouse (and even make it worthwhile!). Many women, unfortunately, just rush headlong into hit-or-miss relationships instead of waiting patiently for the one whom God has prepared for them as their truly beloved. With this book, Tere has become an instrument in the hand of God for the spiritual formation of future brides."

   
- Reverend Dr. Father Martin Macasaet, S.D.B.

  Rector, Don Bosco Technical College - Mandaluyong