The diocese paid tribute to the men and women who have provided faithful witness to the holy bond of matrimony with its annual Jubilee of Anniversaries Mass and reception on Sunday, Sept. 10.
More than 400 married couples, family, friends and community members attended the 2 p.m. Mass in downtown Columbus at St. Joseph Cathedral.
The Mass and reception were moved to the cathedral from Sunbury St. John Neumann Church, which was originally scheduled to host the event before unanticipated circumstances forced a late change of venue.
Each year, the diocese honors couples celebrating significant wedding anniversaries of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60-plus years. Registrants from parishes throughout the diocese received a signed certificate from Bishop Earl Fernandes in recognition of their fidelity, and those who signed up in advance were recognized in the Sept. 10 edition of The Catholic Times.
Concelebrating the Mass were Father Jan Sullivan, the cathedral’s rector; and Father Michael Hinterschied, a parochial vicar at the cathedral; and they were assisted by five diocesan seminarians.
Father Hinterschied’s parents, Gregg and Barbara of Granville St. Edward the Confessor Church, were among the couples observing milestone anniversaries at the Mass.
In Bishop Fernandes’s homily, he began by speaking of his late parents’ fidelity to their marriage vows and his appreciation for all married couples in the diocese who display a similar commitment to their spouses.
“On behalf of a grateful diocese, I am thankful for your faithful witness, your witness to Christ and love for His bride, the Church,” Bishop Fernandes said. “I am grateful for your generosity in raising up families. I am grateful for your fidelity in helping to build up the Church and for making your homes places of belonging and welcome.”
That fidelity, the bishop explained, came from an act of faith made during the marriage vows on a couple’s wedding day.
“You made an act of faith that truly marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman,” he said, “which is a deep sharing in the life and love that is ordered toward procreation and, education of children and the good of their spouses, namely heaven.
“You’ve made an act of faith that you would be witnesses to Christ’s love for His bride, the Church, and you would model this in the world. It takes great courage to make such an act of faith, and I am grateful because of your faithful witness.”
Bishop Fernandes pointed to the importance of that witness for young adults.
“Young people wonder today, ‘Can I actually get married?’” he said. “‘Will a relationship last? Is it even possible in the modern day to be married and to hope for a long and happy life?’
“You are the living witnesses that this love is real, this love is possible.”
Referring back to his parents, the bishop shared his experience of growing up in a household that the Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to as the domestic church, rooted in daily prayer that included recitation of the rosary.
Couples recognize through faith that they have a responsibility toward their spouse to sanctify each other and their children to help them reach heaven.
“And so, I call upon you to be committed to the sanctification of the family,” the bishop said. “We know that things aren’t as they once were. People don’t believe as easily, and we know that many families are broken.
Touching on the theme of “fraternal correction” in the Sunday readings, the Bishop remarked: “Many people struggle with many of the moral and sexual issues of our day. It doesn’t mean that we be silent but that we offer correction because we love the other person, not because we want to control the other person’s life.
“Similarly, when another person offers correction to us, sometimes we get defensive. Sometimes we say, ‘Don’t nag me.’ Sometimes we try to justify ourselves. But we should receive the correction in the spirit which it is given – with humility, with resolutions to try to do better, because it is usually given out of love.”
Bishop Fernandes concluded by sharing parts of the exhortation before marriage used at weddings long ago:
“‘No greater blessing can come to your married life than pure, conjugal love, loyal and true to the end,’” he said, “‘May, then, this love, which you join your hands and hearts today, never fail but grow deeper and stronger as the years go on.
“‘And if true love and the unselfish spirit of perfect sacrifice guide your every action, you can expect the greatest measure of earthly happiness that may be allotted to man in this valley of tears.
“‘The rest is in the hands of God. Nor will God be wanting to your needs. He will pledge you the lifelong support of His graces in the holy sacrament, which you are now going to receive.’
“Truer words were never spoken. Everything is in the hands of God. God is attentive to your needs, and He continues to pledge His lifelong support, His grace and His friendship.”
After the homily, Bishop Fernandes gave a special blessing to the married couples in the pews and watching the livestream online.
A Jubilee of Anniversaries Mass replay is available on the diocese’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@ColumbusCatholic/streams.