By Rose O’Connor | Correspondent and Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor

Married couples from throughout the Diocese commemorating their first, 25th, 50th and more years of wedded bliss were recognized and received a blessing from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., throughout October.

With family members and friends in attendance, the 127 couples from Monmouth and Ocean Counties had gathered for a Mass celebrated by their Bishop Oct. 2 in St. Robert Bellarmine Church, Freehold. The Mass for the nearly 100 couples from Burlington and Mercer Counties was celebrated Oct. 16 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton.

In his homily, Bishop O’Connell asked the married couples to take a brief trip down memory lane to their wedding day, posing question such as, “What was the name of the priest or deacon who performed the wedding?  Did it start on time?  What was the song that we danced to for the first time as husband and wife?  What did we have for dinner?  How did we escape from the reception for the honeymoon?”

While such details could pose a real challenge for those couples celebrating 50 years and even to those celebrating 25 years, he said, “When you come right down to it, details from a single day lose their importance and memories start to fade.”

 “What matters is that you are still here, still together, still in love.  What a blessing your life has been, together!  What a blessing you have, together!  What a blessing you are, together!  What a blessing you still seek, together!   And that is what brings us together today, here in this Church at Holy Mass, surrounded by children and loved ones who are also blessings you enjoy,” Bishop O’Connell said.

Speaking of the importance of faith in the life of a marriage, the Bishop said, “There are few opportunities for faith as demonstrable as when a husband and wife commit themselves to one another for the whole of life, ‘for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health, until death do us part.’  Did you know at the moment of your consent what the future would hold for you?  And, yet, you said yes regardless of what might come your way.  That is faith.”

He acknowledged the reality that difficulties often plague marriages and applauded those who remained true to their sacramental marriage. “We can use all sorts of legal means to wiggle our way out of a contract --- and many do --- but not you: for you the loving, faithful covenant of marriage is irrevocable. That is precisely the love of God we see for us in his covenant with us: unbreakable, irrevocable. There are many ideas of marriage in the world today, but your married life has been a sacrament you received in the Lord, joined together for many years in the Lord. And you turn to Christ to sustain your love for each other because Christ has blessed your marriage and we renew his blessing as we celebrate your wedding anniversary.”

After the homily, the couples reaffirmed their marriage vows and blessed their wedding rings as their family and friends looked on fondly, many capturing the moment on their cell phones.

Peg Hensler, associate director of the Department of Youth, Marriage and Family Life, applauded the couples for “being loving witnesses to the whole world,” and that “lifelong, joyful marriage is possible.”

At the end of the Mass, the Bishop offered blessings first to those couples observing their first year of marriage, then those marking their 25 years of marriage, and then those observing 50 or more years.

The happy couples had the opportunity to receive an individual blessing following the Mass by the local priests in attendance, as Bishop O’Connell said as he thanked them for their presence at the Mass, “They wanted to be here to celebrate and witness the love you have for one another.”