Love and marriage, go together like a vocation and sacrament

World Marriage Day, the annual celebration of the promise of a marital union, took place Feb. 9 with a special Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo.

Bishop Michael W. Fisher offered a warm welcome to the 22 married couples celebrating significant milestone anniversaries, along with their families.

“This is a wonderful day,” he said. “We give thanks for the gift that you are to us and to the Church and we welcome you, again, to this special Mass as we pray for you.”

In his homily, Bishop Fisher mentioned he, his brothers and cousins used to hike for miles through the rugged Blue Ridge Mountains. As they would move at different paces, they would stop from time to time to regroup. “Making sure everyone was keeping up and together, supporting one another, and partly to be sure that no one had gotten lost along the trail,” he said.

“I think it expresses a little bit of today’s celebration as we mark those various years of jubilee and anniversary for you who have been married to one another in such a beautiful sacrament of the Church. It’s like, here we take a pause for you to regroup a little bit and maybe look back in fondness and joy upon your journey,” he explained.

The bishop recalled his own parents celebrating their 50th anniversary.

“You, couples in marriage, went on an incredible journey together. Some of you have traveled further than others. But today you are given that opportunity to look back at the road that you have traveled, to give thanks to both God and one another for another stage of the journey,” the bishop said.

The Catholic Church considers marriage to be a sacrament or an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. The sacrament of marriage is considered a vocation, something someone is called to live out. Every aspect of a marriage is an opportunity to make God present to a spouse and others.

“May you see the surprise of love every day in each other’s eyes,” the bishop said.

Couples present were asked to repeat the vows they made the day they were married. They turned to face each other in the pews and held hands. Then renewed and confirmed their vows of holy matrimony, promising to be true in good times and in bad, sickness and health, and to love and honor all the days of their lives.

“Look with kindness on these couples today amid the joys and struggles of their lives, you have preserved the beauty between them. Renew their marriage covenant. Increase Your love though them. And strengthen their bond of peace so that they may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing,” Bishop Fisher asked of the Lord.

As guests waited to have a photo with Bishop Fisher, some offered the secrets to a long and happy marriage.

“To understand each other’s likes and differences, and always adjusting and supporting each other,” said Carol Hamm, married for 50 years.

“And listening to her,” husband Kenneth added.  

“I guess the secret is patience and forgiveness. You run into these bumps up and down and things and stuff, but holding a grudge and being angry about stuff, it just doesn’t work,” said Deacon Don Weigel. “It’s just about being open and patient and giving to each other.”

 “And hanging in there,” added Kathy Weigel, his wife of 50 years.

For the Hibbs, married for 25 years, the secret to a strong marriage is making it a strong marriage.

“It’s a commitment. You need to be in that mindset that there’s no out. This is what you signed up for,” said Trina Hibbs. “Aside from that, love, sacrifice.”

Husband Richard said that faith in Christ, as well as a love of community, love for your children, and being engaged in parish life has helped them.   

“The more you put into it, the more you get out of it,” he said.

World Marriage Day is celebrated every year on the second Sunday in February, beginning in 1983 in the United States. Popularized by the Catholic Church, the purpose of World Marriage Day is to emphasize the beauty of marriage and to honor husbands and wives for their faithfulness and sacrifices.