I want to welcome you all. Today is so very special. In fact it is well over four decades in the making. But for Gerard and Rauli the moment has come when they can reveal in the most public of ways the love that has been present in their hearts all that time. We are the privileged guests because we symbolise all the people in the world who are being touched by the love and commitment that Gerard and Rauli have towards each other.
Gerard and Rauli I turn to you to acknowledge that we are privileged to be both your guests and witnesses. Thank you for inviting us. Today is the public proclamation of your love.
For over 44 years you have shared the thrills and the spills, the joys and sadness that life has put before you. You have discovered who you truly are in the togetherness shared in such an intimate way.
True love is between two persons committed to the welfare of the other. Two egos integrate into one. Two lives as it were become one. Love has no boundaries, there are no fences. There is only openness between two persons that love. They learn more and more to discover the wonderful mystery of the other . You started off as friends and that will always be the bedrock of the love you share with one another. Two persons, two souls, two humans have become one.
That is why we rejoice with Rauli and Gerard because they at long last are able to make public what has been part of them for many decades.
This is a simple ceremony but it is indeed sacred for in these moments we have left all else aside to be with them. Most of you are family and your presence is a confirmation of the love you have for your brother.
It is imperative for us to always remember the words I read from someone many years ago that love is a partnership of two unique persons who bring out the very best in each other, and who know that even though they are wonderful as individuals, they are even better as a couple.
Maya Angelou sums it up ever so beautifully in these words, ”Love recognises no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”
So to our dear Friends, Gerard and Rauli these are our wishes for you. Continue to walk together the road less travelled knowing that you will always arrive at your destination full of hope.
