Letter from the Pastor
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June 23, 2023Today at the 10:30 Mass, we as a parish will celebrate our wedding anniversary couples. We congratulate our Silver and Golden couples.
After God created our first parents, He gave them to each other, so as to become one. It was God’s first gift, marriage! “For that is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife and the two become one.” (Gen. 2:24). The Bible begins with the gift of marriage, and ends with the “Wedding Feast of the Lamb,” in the Book of Revelation, marriage is a divine institution, created by God as a reflection of His own love for us. Married couples reflect in their love, God. Many places in the Old Testament, God refers to His relationship with the Hebrew people as a marriage. Our Lord’s first miracle, His first sign of His divinity took place at a wedding feast in Cana.Christ raised the beauty of natural marriage to a higher beauty and dignity of a sacrament. The Sacrament of Marriage between two baptized persons is a covenant. A covenant is a relationship between persons based on love; whereas, a contract is based on justice. The marriage covenant between the husband and wife is a permanent union of two individual persons capable of knowing and loving each other and God.
Sadly, the whole notion of marriage is so confused in our day, even among Catholics. We desperately need to recover some basic and foundational truths. There is a particular beauty in Christian marriage. It is not merely a church ceremony with flowers, the dress, the photographs, etc.… Christian marriage is a sacrament that takes place in the Church, a sacred act in a sacred place. The bride and the groom are the ministers of the Sacrament. The priest is only a witness for the Church and the state. In our country, when a couple gets married, they are married at the same ceremony both sacramentally and civilly.
The sacrament of marriage is a great act of faith and love. It shows forth the power of human love, reflecting God’s creative love in the gift of children. It is a witness to courage, sacrifice and love. By a sacramental marriage, the couple witnesses Christ's unique love for His bride, the Church, "Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church." (from the Nuptial Blessing)
Catholics are bound to be married by a priest in front of two witnesses in a church. Sadly, today more of our young couples are not receiving the sacrament. They don’t appreciate the importance of the sacrament or its beauty. They are opting for “destination weddings”, or at the venue. Some of the wedding venues are packaging a “chapel” deal. They are telling the couple they can get married here go to the next room and have your reception. There is no need to go to a church, then worrying about travelling, or the time in between the church and reception, etc. Some places will even offer a “priest” to perform the wedding. (No legitimate Catholic priest can perform a wedding outside a church).
Christ does not cease to care for His Church, He loves her always, He guards and protects her. Anniversary married couples are examples to us all of what a permanent, creative, brave, and sacrificial love looks like.
Thank you to all those celebrating their silver and golden anniversaries, especially:Mr. and Mrs. Bader - 50 years
Mr. and Mrs. Erik Krucker - 25 years
Mr. and Mrs. Gray - 25 years
Mr. and Mrs. Costello - 25 years
Mr. and Mrs. Kerns - 25 years
Mr. and Mrs. McGovern - 25 yearsAd Multos annos!
To many more years!
