On June 9, we will once again honor couples celebrating the golden jubilee of their marriages. These Catholic men and women have lived out the mystery of marriage for half-a-century; 50 years of discovering the meaning of the vows they made five decades ago. They have learned that their promise to love and honor each other is what makes it possible to celebrate their sacrament through “richer and poorer” and “in sickness and in health.”
Theirs has been a journey together toward God. Others have shared their journey for short periods, children, friends and family, but the real journey has been theirs. What stories they could tell. Tales of great joy and terrible grief, the moments when they rejoiced in God’s blessings and the times when the asked “dear God, where are you?’ But He was always there, holding them up, urging them on and sharing their tears and their laughter.
There is a truly unique relationship between husband and wife. The Church recognizes it at the time of marriage when it acknowledges that the ministers of the Sacrament of Matrimony are the bride and the groom. They continue their ministry to each other on their journey; wives are first spiritual directors to their husbands and husbands to their wives. They are truly one in the Lord.
I regret that I will be out of the country at the time of this celebration at St. Anthony’s Church in Wylie, but Bishop Douglas Deshotel will stand in for me and I will be there in spirit and send my blessings to these wonderful jubilarians.
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