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William and Carol Burns celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last month. Last Sunday, June 18, they were among 251 couples who renewed their marriage vows during the annual Golden Jubilee Mass Cardinal Dolan offered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“This is a very special celebration for us,” Mrs. Burns, 69, told CNY before the Mass. “We’re very happy to be here.”
She and her husband are parishioners of Blessed Sacrament on Staten Island.
Burns, 73, said the Catholic faith has always been a significant part of their family life, noting their children attended Catholic schools and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his wife are parents of two and grandparents of five. They said their advice to young couples is to try to work together and always maintain faith in the Lord.
Nearly 1,300 people attended the Golden Jubilee liturgy, including family members, relatives and close friends of the anniversary couples. In addition to the 251 jubilee couples at the Mass, 73 couples who were unable to attend the Mass received jubilee sertificates from the archdiocese. In all, 324 couples received archdiocesan jubilee certificates this year.
The Mass is coordinated by the archdiocesan Family Life/Respect Life Office.
“Thanks be to God for your company here at this Jubilee Mass,” Cardinal Dolan told the congregation at the beginning of the liturgy. And to the honored couples, he said, “Thanks be to God for your fidelity to each other, and for your witness to the Church and to the world. Congratulations to all of you.” Acknowledging that it was also Father’s Day, he added, “Thanks be to God to you dads for your magnificent vocations.”
In his homily, Cardinal Dolan said, “We are here to celebrate a sacrament—a sacrament is an outward sign. Matrimony is one of the seven sacraments in the Church…Fifty years ago you made those vows, you made that promise; but God also makes a promise.”
That outward sign of holy matrimony is a couple’s witness to the world of their fidelity to one another, the cardinal said, and of keeping their sacred covenant with God. The Lord keeps His part of the covenant through grace and blessings for the marriage and for the family, the cardinal said. He reminded the jubilarians that they are a “reflection of God’s love for us.” And he said that this sense of marriage commitment and family values too often is lacking in today’s culture.
Cardinal Dolan then asked the couples to stand and to touch one another’s wedding bands as he guided them in renewing their vows—first husbands to wives and then wives to husbands.
Then the cardinal prayed: “Lord, bless and consecrate these couples in their love for each other. May these rings continue to be a symbol of their true faith in each other and always remind them of their love.”
Dennis and Edith Rollins were among the jubilarians. The parishioners of Holy Spirit in Cortlandt Manor are parents of three and grandparents of two. “It is a celebration of love and it is a celebration of faith,” Mrs. Rollins said after the Mass.
Her husband added, “The fact that we’ve been together all these years—it is a testament to our love for each other, our faith and our family.”
As for advice to young couples, both agreed: Always put God first and always keep humor in the marriage. When asked for their ages, Rollins said 70. Mrs. Rollins said, “Just happy to be alive.” And they both laughed.
