Couples celebrate 50 years or more of marriage

It was a beautiful late summer afternoon both inside and outside of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday, Sept. 16 as Bishop Thomas John Paprocki celebrated the annual Mass for couples married 50 years or longer. About 160 couples, many of them attending Mass with children and grandchildren, were at the Cathedral that afternoon.

"Of all the couples who planned on coming, 28 of them are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, so they are with us for the first time," said Deacon Patrick O'Toole, associate director of the Office for Marriage and Family Life. "Three of the couples who had planned to come have been married over 70 years."

In his homily Bishop Paprocki spoke of the vocation of marriage. "Those whom the Lord has called to the vocation of marriage have the mission to reflect for the world the love Jesus Christ has for his bride, the church," he said. "You are called to love your spouse in the same way Christ loves his spouse; you are called to embrace the cross in your lives. The cross is the ultimate sign of love of God and it is this love that must be continually given to both spouse and children.

"Your confidence that Jesus is indeed 'the Christ, the Son of the living God' has brought you here today to receive his Body and Blood and to ask his continued blessing on your marriage and to give him thanks for these many years of married life," he said. "You have come today because you know that without an acceptance of the cross, no marriage can succeed.

"I offer my most sincere congratulations to you who have been married 50, 60, and even 72 years and I thank you for the beauty of your committed love," he said. "Your marriages stand as a clear testimony to the sanctity of marriage and to the truth that the teachings of the church are not outdated or unrealistic.

"We gladly join our prayers and gratitude to yours and ask the Lord to allow the example of your faithful and committed love to shine brightly before the world in witness to the love of Christ and the sanctity of marriage," he said in conclusion. "Let us pray that having taken up the cross in your marriages, younger couples will be inspired to follow your example, that they, too, will follow the example of self-less love of Jesus Christ."

Concelebrating with Bishop Paprocki were Msgr. Carl Kemme, vicar general; Father John Nolan, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Chatham and dean of the Springfield deanery; and Father Jeffrey Goeckner, pastor of St. Boniface Parish, Edwardsville and dean of the Alton deanery. Father Daren Zehnle was master of ceremonies and Deacon Larry Smith was the assistant master of ceremonies. Also taking part in the Mass were Deacon O'Toole and Deacon Gregory Parquette.

The prelude and music for the Mass was provided by the choir, hand bell choir and instrumentalists of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Edwardsville, under the direction of Jill Griffin. Marc Schapman was the cantor.

The Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Marriage is an annual event of the Office for Marriage and Family Life and is funded by the contributions of the people of the diocese to the Annual Catholic Services Appeal.