Golden Wedding Jubilee
Each year the Archdiocese of Indianapolis honors couples who celebrate 50 or more years of marriage anniversaries. The Mass takes place on Sunday afternoon during the month of September at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral. This past year 121 couples came to celebrate these momentous milestones. They celebrated with a Mass, renewal of wedding vows, a reception and each couple received a Jubilee of Marriage Certificate to mark the occasion. Couples married 60 years or more were personally recognized. The Mass was celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Coyne.
GOLDEN WEDDING JUBILARIANS PROVE REAL LOVE IS ROOTED IN GOD
(Editor’s note: The following are excerpts from Archbishop-Emeritus Buechlein’s column which was run in the October 3, 2003 edition of The Criterion.)
“Every September, one of the most beautiful liturgical events of the year takes place in our cathedral. We celebrate our Golden Wedding Jubilarians, and the cathedral is packed with happy couples, their families and friends.”
“How did these beautiful couples manage to find a love that could last 50, 60 or 70 years? How could they do this when so many marriages come apart?”
“When these couples married many years ago, they knew theirs was not just another wedding. And their wedding day was not just another day in 1953 or 1943. They wanted their wedding day to mark their calendars forever. They gave themselves to each other 100 percent or they would no longer be married. And they have lived in the good days and the bad, the days of sickness, perhaps even tragedy, and so they know that their life together was not, is not, and will not become a romantic dream.”
“No one can go it alone through life. And those couples could not go it alone in marriage. I believe they would tell us that the secret to a happy marriage is the commitment to have God as your mutual third partner. Prayer has been a lifeline.”
“And in the golden years, they know that even now their love needs to be carefully tended and nurtured. No couple’s love on the day of their wedding is enough for a lifetime because love is not static. Love is a decision that grows, and is pruned and tempered by life’s experiences and, yes, it can falter if not re-enforced. How well those jubilarians know that they need God’s blessing for their love.”
“Trust and faith between wife and husband need constant attention. That is the second reason why our jubilarians sought the blessing of the Church—before family and friends, they promised to help each other build the trust and love they would need all the days of their life together. And Sunday afternoon they renewed their promise to stand by each other in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health until death.”
“Why are our jubilarians so happy? They are wives and husbands who reach out to family and friends. Their prayer together led them to care for their neighbors. Through the years, they cared for the elderly, the poor and the sick.”
“True love is not just for the husband and wife. That is what we mean when we say marriage is a sacrament of the love of God. God’s love takes flesh and touches others through married love. The key to a happy marriage is to share love with family and neighbors. And we remember that Christ expanded our notion of family and neighbor to include anyone in need.”
“God bless our jubilarians!”
Click here to view our Photo Gallery of the Mass
Click here for information on our Annual Golden Jubilee Celebration
