The Valley Catholic
Marriage & Family Life
March 11, 2014
11
Special Mass celebrates married life with over 200 couples
By Roberta Ward
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath presided
at the annual diocesan Mass for some
200 married couples celebrating special
anniversaries, Feb. 15, at St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica.
This year couples celebrating their
fifth anniversary (or less) were invited
to join those celebrating their 25th, 40th
and 50th (or more) anniversaries at the
special Mass.
Couples renewed their wedding vows
and received a blessing from the bishop
as well as a certificate signed by him.
The multicultural face of the Diocese
of San Jose was in evidence in the packed
cathedral as the special couples renewed
their marriage vows, in their own language, saying, “I take you again to be my
wife/husband. I promise to be true to you
in good times and in bad, in sickness and
in health. I will love you and honor you
all the days of my life.”
In his homily, Bishop McGrath said,
Dr. Sam Haddad and his wife Bea celebrated 50 years of marriage at Mass and
reception with Bishop McGrath.
“The years flowing from a simple ‘I do’
are sometimes more about commitment
than love, more about fidelity than honor.
And they are truly more about the presence and grace of God that anyone might
dare to expect. Here we are joyfully cel-
ILM Director reflects on
celebration of 25 years of married life
By Linda Cunha-Ricchio
Our 25 years began with a first date
to a play based on the letters and poetry
of Elizabeth Barrett Browning to her
husband, Robert. This particular poem
comes from a place of gratitude and a
recognition that God is near. It speaks
of everyday’s quiet need, loving freely,
loving passionately, and smiles and
tears. That evening, we could not know
that it was the start of our life together.
“How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.”
A key ingredient for success in
marriage for us is our faith. We are not
alone in this relationship. Our faith has
been foundational and throughout our
25 years. In Christian marriage, the
couple is called to help one another attain holiness and to pass on the faith to
our children. Our 1,300 weeks together
have been punctuated with attending
Sunday liturgy with our daughter and
trying to live out our faith.
Gratitude and prayer have carried us
through each of our 9,125 days together
through smiles and tears, everyday
need, through illnesses and celebrations. There have been many holiday
gatherings, school activities, soccer
games and graduations, but another
ingredient in our marriage has been
the sanctity of date night and spending
quality time together.
Pope Francis recently met with thousands of engaged couples and shared
his thoughts on how to approach
the “fear of forever.” “[It] is cured by
entrusting oneself day by day to the
Lord Jesus in a life that becomes a daily
spiritual path of common growth, step
by step.” The Pope emphasized that
living together in marriage is “an art,
a patient, beautiful and fascinating
journey.”
Linda Cunha-Ricchio and husband Frank
Ricchio celebrated 25 years at recent
wedding anniversary Mass at St. Joseph
Cathedral Basilica in San Jose. (Photo by
(Photo by Clarisse Balistreri)
Couples pronounced their wedding vows during special Mass in cathedral.
ebrating 6,744 years. That is more than
2,400,000 days, at least some of them in
wedded bliss!”
Referring to the Readings for the
Mass, the bishop said, “It is love that St.
Paul defines as the essential virtue, more
than faith, more than hope, more than
any other gifts. For, possessing all other
gifts, but without love, we are empty,
nothing more than a clanging cymbal.
“Sacrifice is difficult…only love can
make it easy, and perfect love can make
it a joy! This love has girded you, held
you together, made possible the gifts of
yourselves offered to one another, to your
children and to the world.”
He added, “Christian Marriage is
always about more than the couple,
always more than even the family.
Christian Marriage enriches the Church
and it enriches the world… you are a
gift to the Church, for in you we learn
Leandro & Minni Villareal, celebrated 60 years.
(Photo by Clarisse Balistreri)
something of the love that Christ has
for the Church, the love he has for all of
us and for all who strive to follow his
example of love.”
Organizations involved in the planning of the event included Couples for
Christ, Encuentro Matrimonial Mundial, and Worldwide Marriage Encounter.
• Visit dev.dsj.org/being-catholic/worship/photos for more photos.
Clarisse Balistreri)
He summarized the need for couples
to use three important words: “please,”
“thank you” and “sorry.” We have
spoken these words of courtesy many
times because we know we should not
take each other for granted.
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