CHARLOTTE — Married couples from across the Diocese of Charlotte gathered at St. Patrick Cathedral Oct. 26 to celebrate their silver and gold marriage anniversaries during a special Wedding Anniversary Mass presided over by Bishop Michael Martin.
Sixty-seven couples attended the annual Mass, hosted by the Office of Family Life to honor those who have reached the milestones of 25 and 50 years of marriage.
In his homily, the bishop reflected on the "miracle” of marriage.
“Let’s rejoice in that miracle that you were graced with…to say yes when you didn’t know who that spouse you are marrying would become,” Bishop Martin said.
“That’s belief, and that belief speaks to the whole world that says you can’t do that, you can’t trust that,” the bishop noted. “You said, ‘I know, but I trust in God that He will let me love whoever she (he) becomes...25 to 50 years from now.’”
The bishop applauded how the couples “stepped into” a covenant, unaware of what the future may hold. There is a witness to that, he said.
“The scriptures are full of stories reminding us to step forward in faith when we don’t know all the answers,” Bishop Martin said. “You didn’t know all that it would entail, but you still said, ‘yes.’”
While some believe it gets easier, the bishop noted that marriage may get harder as one has to continually recommit themselves to an imperfect person.
What the world needs most is forgiveness, and marriage is a testament to the world of unconditional forgiveness, he said.
Bishop Martin ended his homily by having the couples repeat four words from the Gospel reading from John, “Remain in My love.”
The couples then stood, held each other’s hands, and gazed in one another’s eyes while renewing their commitments to one another before God.
At the reception afterward, the couples explained how those four words, “Remain in My Love,” have impacted their marriages.
Deacon Tom McGahey and his wife, Nancy, both parishioners at St. Mark in Huntersville, have been married for 50 years. They met during a required marriage class at a Catholic high school in Michigan and are still observing their lessons.
As Deacon McGahey recalled, “It was the only class I actually got an “A” in.”
The two are still earning “A’s” in their marriage. The key is “sharing a common faith and worshipping together,” Nancy said.
“I’ve had 50 years of her teaching me, and I’m still learning. I’m a real tough student,” Deacon McGahey laughed.
Fellow parishioners John and Delores Vernersky from St. Mark also met in high school and agreed the Church was the perfect place to continue their 50-year love adventure.
“We started in the Church, and I thought it was important for it to continue in the Church,” Delores Vernersky said.
They intentionally work hard to remain close to and to believe in one another but readily admit it’s their faith that helps with the rest.
“I can probably count on one hand how many times we have missed Sunday Mass,” John Vernersky said. “It is just part of our lives.”
Earlier in the month, Pope Leo XIV wrote about the importance of marriage as a vocation.
"Among the vocations to which men and women are called by God, marriage is one of the most noble and exalted," the pope wrote on Oct. 18.
The pope used the first couple canonized together, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, as a prime example of God’s love played out through holy matrimony. In their youth, each felt a pull to religious
vocations, but both were turned away. God had different plans, and they married three months after first setting eyes on each other. Their five daughters, including Thérèse of Lisieux, carried
out their parents’ initial nudge by choosing the consecrated life.
Pope Leo XIV said their example, "bears witness to the ineffable happiness and profound joy that God grants, both here on earth and for eternity, to those who commit themselves to this path of fidelity and fruitfulness."
After 25 years of marriage, Amy and Sergio Miranda, members of Our Lady of Consolation in Charlotte, agree with the pope's words.
“You work for fidelity, not for happiness,” Sergio Miranda said. “At some point you are just not going to be happy. There are always ups and downs with marriage, but if you work towards fidelity, you are building that relationship. You are building that commitment together.”
— Lisa Geraci. Photos by Lisa Geraci and Sean Prich