ANNIVERSARY BLESSINGS

Nearly 350 couples came together for the Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Oct. 7 and 21 in Freehold’s Co-Cathedral and the Cathedral in Trenton. Among them were Ben and Frances Paolillo of St. Luke Parish, Toms River – the only ones celebrating 75 years of marriage. 

The Diocese’s annual gatherings brought anniversary couples and their loved ones together with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and area priests for a tribute to married love and fidelity.

“There’s a lot of love in this room,” Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., said as he looked over a sea of smiling couples, each celebrating a milestone anniversary this year.

“Today is a wonderful occasion for us to celebrate marriage, your marriage, your anniversaries in the midst of a community of faith,” he said. “This is your Sacrament, and this Sacrament that brought you together, this Sacrament that kept you together is a bond that has become stronger and deeper and holier with the passage of time.”

Ask Ben and Frances Paolillo what the secret is to their 75-years-and-still-going-strong marriage, and one word keeps coming up: respect.

“The secret is respect,” Ben explained. “Take care of her, and she’ll take care of you.”

“And don’t argue,” Frances added. “Arguments don’t help – they only make you feel like a bad person.”

Joy, tenderness and gratitude were reflected in the faces of nearly 300 couples honored by the Diocese of Trenton during the annual Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Oct. 8 and 22. Couples marking one, 25 and 50 or more years of marriage were blessed by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., who affirmed them in their vocation to married life and thanked them for the powerful witness they offer to their families, friends and community.  

June may be the month for weddings, but October was the month to reaffirm those vows as some 300 couples pledged their fidelity, faith and love anew during anniversary celebrations hosted by the Diocese of Trenton.

The couples, from parishes around the Diocese marking one, 25, 50 or more years of marriage, took part in the Bishop’s Anniversary Blessings Masses Oct. 8 in St. Aloysius Church, Jackson, and Oct. 22 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton.

The Keepsake Edition from The Monitor
Celebrating Couples Married 1 Year, 25 Years and 50+ Years.
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As hundreds of couples from across the Diocese were honored by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., priests, deacons, family and friends during two Anniversary Blessing Masses in October, more than a dozen volunteers were working behind the scenes to make sure those moments would become perfect memories.

Eyes glistened with emotion and loving smiles lit up the faces of some 275 anniversary couples who stood before their loved ones, their Church and their God to renew their wedding vows during celebrations sponsored in October by the Diocese of Trenton.

Nearly 300 couples celebrating one, 25 or 50 and more years of marriage renewed their wedding vows and received the blessing of their bishop during the Diocese’s 2015 Bishop’s Anniversary Blessing Masses that took place Oct. 11 and 25. ...

The Gospel from St. Matthew today is often considered the scriptural basis for the principle of separation of Church and State: render to Caesar what is his and to God what is God's. that principle is derived from the image stamped on a coin.