Silver & Gold Mass

PATERSON  Nov. 5 was as picturesque as any wedding day should be as 105 happy couples from the parishes around the Diocese smiled broadly as they renewed the wedding vows they took many years ago.

This was the scene in St. John’s Cathedral here as couples celebrated their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries at the annual diocesan Silver and Gold Mass. Many of the couples were accompanied by generations of family members to witness the joyous occasion.

Coordinated by the Diocesan Office of Family Life, Bishop Serratelli was the main celebrant of the wedding anniversary Mass, which was concelebrated by several priests from around the Diocese. Father Robert Mitchell, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Chatham, was homilist for the celebration.

To the couples, the Bishop began the Mass by saying, “We join by thanking almighty God for the grace that he has given you in the sacrament of marriage to be living witnesses of his faithful love to all of us.”

In his homily addressing the happy husbands and wives, Father Mitchell said, “You’ve come here today because in some mysterious way you met the person you sit with and in meeting the person you sit with, something connected through the chemistry of relationships that made you say to each other I wish to spend my lifetime with you. The beauty of it all is that you have matched your words with your lifestyle.”

“You have come to see through these 25 and 50 years that prayer has sustained your relationship. We’re actually saying to that person how much I love and care for you and when we hear words of affirmation, there’s always something in us that wants us to work together and try harder in what we do,” said Father Mitchell.

Like on their wedding days, the 105 couples exchanged vows holding each others’ hands. Before the Bishop, the couples renewed their love, fidelity and commitment to each other in Holy Matrimony. Each couple received a commemorative certificate signed by the Bishop honoring their significant anniversaries.

At the close of Mass, the Bishop said to the couples, “In the marriage ritual, on the day you were married and still today, the priest reminds us that marriage is the one blessing that was not forfeited by original sin and the one blessing not washed away by the great flood. So important is marriage in the eyes of almighty God that Jesus first miracle sanctified the wedding at Cana. I want to thank you for accepting from God the noble vocation of being husband and wife and sometimes, of mother and father. It is a gift that God has given to you that you graciously accepted and by his grace, you stand before us today. A lot can be said about the need for real marriage today but greater than our words is the living example that you give.”

Following the Mass, the couples were invited to a reception to meet the Bishop. Many couples took a photo with the Bishop.

Among the 58 golden anniversary couples at the Mass was Dina and Gerardo Oliviero, parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pompton Plains, who marked their 50th on Oct. 22. Dina Oliviero said, “It’s a wonderful feeling and a special moment to renew our vows.”

The couple, attending with their daughters, Rosanna and Laura Oliviero, who look up to their parents for their commitment to each other and the family all these years and were so proud to celebrate this day with them. Rosanna Oliviero said, “They have a lot of patience with each other and they share a great sense of humor. They still hold each other’s hands. She’s his lady and he’s her man.”

Celebrating their silver anniversary was Scott and Rakyung “Rockie” French of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mountain Lakes. The couple has four children and said, “It has been an amazing 25 years, we are already looking forward to celebrating again for our 50th.”

Some advice the couple had for other couples is “that it’s definitely true to not go to bed angry. Communication is important and compromise. Something that has kept us together is to try to do everything together. Enjoy what each other enjoys,” the couple said.