Married couples told: 'We need your witness'

By Teresa Martinez - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | During the month of February, couples throughout the U.S. celebrate Valentine’s Day with cards and flowers. Catholics, however, also are urged to celebrate National Marriage Week, Feb. 7-14.

To do so, the Archdiocese of Miami began an annual tradition: Every February, on the weekend closest to Valentine’s Day, married couples marking milestone anniversaries are honored at a Mass celebrated at St. Mary Cathedral. This year, close to 100 couples participated in the Mass, celebrated Feb. 12, 2022 with Archbishop Thomas Wenski presiding.

“Today, we honor and celebrate those married couples celebrating silver, golden, and other significant anniversaries,” said the archbishop in the homily. “And we thank you for your witness – a witness that is so much needed in our world today.”

The Office of Marriage and Family Life coordinates the celebration for couples from Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Organized in the pews by anniversary milestone, the archbishop called on them by group to stand for applause.

“It’s a very beautiful thing to celebrate this moment here today. You get to see your children’s aspirations realized, your grandchildren all grown up,” said Rosalina Ramos, who is celebrating 61 years of marriage with William. The couple, from Corpus Christi Church in Miami, were the longest married couple in attendance.

“We have been one of those marriages that has not had any major problems thanks to God. We have been a very united family, a very happy family,” Rosalina said.

“In these couples, we see the beauty of marriage, the depth and beauty of love brought to full maturity, a mature love that knows true freedom because it is committed, a love tried and purified in the crucible of suffering and sacrifice,” said the archbishop.

Before the Mass, the couples celebrating their milestone anniversaries posed for photos with Archbishop Wenski. They received the printed photos after Mass along with a congratulatory certificate from the archbishop. During the Mass, the couples renewed their marriage vows.

“We entered into this union as two people and then we became three, with Christ being at the center of us. He is the one who has sustained us and helped us to get to 50 years,” said Elvira Gilda Davis-Viloria, who was excited to renew her vows with husband Franklin. The couple, parishioners at Mother of Christ in Miami, are parents to three boys and have four grandchildren.

“To those marriages just starting out, the most important thing is to have respect for each other and to always have God and prayer at the center of your marriage,” said Davis-Viloria. “God has never abandoned us. It is us who sometimes go away from him, and yet he's always there for us showing us the way.”

“One year is a beautiful milestone we wanted to celebrate,” said Maria Jose Valenzuela, who is married to Marcus and was one of 12 couples celebrating their first anniversary. “It was very inspiring, very beautiful to see the older couples. They are good role models for us younger couples.”

“We need your witness,” implored the archbishop in his homily. “We need to learn that it is beautiful to mature through sacrifices – and thus to work for the salvation of others. And that is precisely why marriage is a sacrament – an encounter with Christ that gives grace that leads to salvation not only for oneself but for others.”