Double Blessings Rich Alden

The O'Madden's Double Blessings Rich Alden

As with most young families, the weeks agenda can be full and at times chaotic. Nick and Mercedes make sure they leave time for faith formation.

"One of the best parts of being a parent is seeing the girls put our Lord first by remembering to pray before meals or in the morning. 'Thank you Jesus for this day we offer you all we do, think and say,'” says Mercedes.

Nick adds that, "the best part of being a father is, “seeing our daughters learn something new and seeing them happy."

Life at SJV includes Mercedes guiding daughter Heaven who is in her preparation for first Eucharist.

Sister Saoirse will follow in a few years. Nick has taken up the offer to join the youth choir. He enjoys singing and playing the guitar. “Joining the youth choir allowed me to show my daughters how we can use any God given talent to worship Him. I’ve always believed in what St. Augustine said, ‘to sing is to pray twice’.”

Home life and parenthood is a respite for Nick and Mercedes. Nick, a psychotherapist and PhD candidate in Forensic Psychology, says his Catholic Faith, “provides me a roadmap to ensure I’m fostering a faith-based morality to people I treat. It also comes with challenges as I work in a field that does not always align with my Christian values.”

Mercedes, a clinical dietician, says, “My faith helps me to recognize and respond to the needs of my patients when faced with trauma, ill health, a chronic condition or sadness.”

In their spare time the O’Madden’s continue to make memories while camping, cycling, watching movies, trying out new restaurants, searching for the world’s best cup of coffee and burrito. What excites the girls? Activities that allow them to use their imagination, playgrounds, going on adventure walks, traveling, spending time with family and friends.

The O'Madden's Double Blessings

Second Marital Blessing

Nick and Mercedes spent part their honeymoon in Rome. They planned to receive the Sposi Novelli, - a newlywed blessing given by Pope Francis. As with all things related to the Vatican and the church there are protocols and traditions.

They inquired at the Sacramento diocese to determine if they qualified. Mercedes recalls the day. “We would be married within two months, have copy of our Sacramental Marriage Certificate signed by our priest and would wear wedding attire.” We were ecstatic. We were married, finalized realized it was a loading zone and received a parking ticket. We had no Sposi Novelli tickets, no time to change into our wedding clothes and did not have a copy of our marriage certificate with us. The Swiss guard turned us away as we tried to join the newlyweds in line. We were not deterred. We remained hopeful and hopped fences and staggered closer to the stage. We found ourselves in contact once again with other Swiss guards who continued to turn us away.

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our plans and set off to Rome. The ceremony was scheduled for the day of our arrival in Rome. A well thought out plan started to crumble soon after we arrived. A delay in getting luggage and picking up a rental car resulted in not enough time to pick up the Sposi Novelli tickets and make it to the ceremony on time. I prayed, God if this is your will to bless our marriage in this way let it be, otherwise we are still grateful.

We made it to St Peters square and found a parking spot, later we

fence that separated the Pope from the audience. With my broken Italian and familiar Spanish language, I was able to finagle some words to get a cardinal’s attention and let him know we had recently married and showed him a photo of us on our wedding day. The cardinal priest then signaled to the same Swiss guard who previously turned us away to let us on stage. We were tightly holding hands and running to the stage embracing this quick change of events.

All, the other couples had left the stage and the Pope was getting ready to leave. We were now in front of Pope Francis himself. We proceeded to kiss Pope Francis’ papal ring as this is the respectful way to greet the Pope. In utter shock I also placed my hand gently on his cheek. Pope Francis kindly asked when we had married and nervous to answer, Nick said the wrong date. I was still in shock but somehow, I picked up on the error and quickly corrected him. We chuckled and it ended up being a nice ice breaker. Pope Francis proceeded to bless our marriage and gave us each a rosary he had blessed. This will be a forever memory and experience that we will always hold near to our hearts.

When you see the O’Madden family at church or around town stop and introduce yourself and be sure to tell them where you found the perfect burrito or share your Pope Francis encounter.