By Rosemary Daniels |Correspondent

Love was in the air on Feb. 8 in St. Clement Parish, Matawan, when more than 85 couples gathered to pay tribute to their marriages at the World Marriage Day 2014 celebration.

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The event began with Mass offered by Father John Scully, pastor of St. Clement Parish. A dinner dance followed in the parish reception center.

During the evening, couples were treated to remarks by guest speaker, Msgr. Casey Ladzinski, a retired priest of the diocese, who exhorted couples to “be there for one another, even in difficult days.” Msgr. Ladzinski  shared stories about couples who had remained together during periods of great adversity, including a story about a couple married 70 years, who shared with him their belief that “when something was broke, you fixed it.”

Msgr. Ladzinski encouraged the couples to take time to go out and “remember how it all started.”

Peg Hensler, associate director of the diocesan Department of Youth, Marriage, and Family Life, who introduced the diocesan event in 2006, was pleased to see many of the couples who attended the inaugural event celebrating again in St. Clement Parish.

 Hensler offered a welcome, and told the group, “This is an evening where we come together as a diocese to honor marriage as a sacred and holy vocation, and of course, an unmistakable sign of God’s presence in the world.”

Lou and Barbara Carcich, Marriage Encounter leaders who facilitate programs throughout the East Coast, shared their thoughts as part of the toast. Barbara Carcich stressed that “as a sacrament, Marriage is a sign of God’s love for his awesome Church,” noting that when couples exchange their vows, they “not only say yes to each other, but they say yes to being that sign of love to the whole Church.”

For Carol and Keith Casey, members in St. Thomas Moore Parish, Manalapan, where Keith is a deacon, the event marked their fifth diocesan celebration dating back to one of the original brunches in Spring Lake. Deacon Casey said, “This is an opportunity to take an evening and celebrate our marriage.”  Carol Casey added, “With the world so upside-down these days, you need to take time and value each other.”

Lillian and John Lent, from St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel, were attending for the first time.  John Lent explained that they attended a Marriage Encounter weekend in 2012, and were looking forward to socializing with some of the people they had met there.  Lillian Lent added, “With our daughter away at college, it’s just us now, and we figured, ‘why not?’”

As part of the festivities, the group participated in a special dance which narrowed down the group to the couples with the greatest marriage longevity. At the end of the dance, four couples remained, each being married for more than 55 years.

On the other end of the spectrum, Denise and Dave McNamara were recognized as the most recently married couple in attendance. Their wedding reception was held in St. Clement Parish Reception Center just six months prior. Denise McNamara was ebullient as she celebrated the evening with her new husband, her parents, her sister and her sister’s fiancé. She observed, “It’s very inspiring to see all the couples here that have been married so long.”

Her father Bob Scharen is a deacon in St. Mary Parish, Middletown, where the McNamaras are also parishioners. Deacon Scharen said, “My fellow deacon, Marty McMahon, encouraged a group of us to come. We are having a ball.”

World Marriage Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of February and promoted by Worldwide Marriage Encounter.

For more information on World Marriage Day go to http://wmd.wwme.org/purpose-history.html.