More than 30 couples celebrate milestone anniversaries with Bishop Ruggieri at the Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass
There’s a leap of faith involved in the sacrament of holy matrimony. Bishop James Ruggieri celebrated the Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass on Saturday, June 22, with more than 30 couples recognizing their significant wedding anniversaries. Couples from across Maine were celebrating milestones spanning 25 to 65 years married. The Mass took place at Our Lady of the Angels Church in South Berwick.
“The beautiful thing you have, dear couples, is you have the grace of God. The very life and presence of God in your midst in the sacrament of holy matrimony. It’s a great gift,” Bishop Ruggieri said. “It is seen when you look back over your lives and marriages and wonder how you survived your challenges. But you did. Thanks be to God! God’s sacramental grace shines through you.”
George and Judith Duranleau came to the Mass celebrating their 57th wedding anniversary. The Limerick couple from Good Shephard Parish says their dedication to faith and communication are the pillars of their relationship.
“We talk it out when there is a problem. We go to Mass together and practice our faith together. Our faith has been ingrained in our lives that if we don’t participate in some way, there would be something missing,” George said.
The high school sweethearts met in homeroom during high school. They were married in May of 1967. They have moved all over the country. They raised three daughters and are now grandparents to six grandchildren. The Duranleaus say their love and faith is their constant foundation.
“We come from military families. So, we’ve moved all over the world. One aspect that has kept us together is our faith. That is who we are no matter where we are,” Judith said.
Bishop Ruggieri blessed the couples, while they held hands, saying, “look with kindness on them today. Amid the joys and struggles of life together, you have preserved the union between them. Renew their marriage covenant, increase your love in them. Strengthen their bond of peace and grant them your blessing. So, that surrounded by their children, family and friends, and by their community of faith, they may always rejoice in the gift of your grace.”
Dorothy and Frank Schneider of Scarborough attended the Mass celebrating their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. The two from Good Shepard Parish were married in August 1974 at the Fordham University Chapel in New York.
“It’s special because God has kept us together in the good times and bad,” Frank said. “The best part of celebrating a milestone is having the person you love to share it.”
The Schneiders say their advice for other couples is to always remember what brought you and your partner together, be patient with each other and compromise. The couple says together they go to Mass every Saturday and then go out to dinner afterwards where they talk about Mass.
“Before we go to bed at night, we remind each other to say our prayers and we recall our blessings,” Dorothy said.
“We rejoice with our couples as they celebrate these milestone anniversaries. The Church rejoices with them as these couples are evidence of the power of the sacrament of holy matrimony,” Bishop Ruggieri said.
As the couples held hands and joined more than 60 others celebrating their union, Bishop Ruggieri reminded them to continue to believe in each other, their love, and their faith.
“We adjust to life as it comes at us. Even with being married for more than 50 years, we still take it one day at a time,” Judith said.
