PROVIDENCE—More than 215 couples from 77 parishes around the diocese participated in this year’s Wedding Anniversary Celebration at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul on October 18.
Hosted by the Office of Marriage Preparation & Enrichment, the annual event honors couples who are celebrating milestone wedding anniversaries. This year, the participants included 87couples celebrating milestones of more than 50 years, 51 couples celebrating 50 years, 40 couples celebrating 40 years, and 37 couples celebrating 25 years of marriage. Hugo and Serafina DeAscentis, of Jesus Savior Parish in Newport, again took the top spot on the list, honoring their 79 years of marriage this year.
Bishop Lewandowski blessed the couples in front of family and friends before they renewed their marriage vows.
Using a wedding ring as a metaphor during his homily, the bishop described marriage’s value through fidelity, sacrifice, shared joy, perseverance, and a covenant lived in faith.
He connected the question about paying taxes to Caesar to the importance of heavenly priorities.
“Have you ever considered how much your wedding ring is worth? Have you thought about it? The metal, the stone, the design, the weight — the 4Cs: carat, color, clarity, cut?” he quipped, chuckling as he suggested he was sounding like a commercial for diamonds with the Mass participants similarly making that connection and smiling.
The bishop then asked if everyone’s wedding rings had aged as well as those worn by Hugo, who was slated to turn 100 in a few days following the Mass, and Serafina DeAscentis, 99.
“Your rings have eternal value,” Bishop Lewandowski said to all couples gathered. “You’re wearing eternity on your finger.”
Their value has increased, not because of need, not because of the kind of gold or metal they are constructed of, but because of each spouse and their appreciating love for each other through the years.
“Its value multiplies with every milestone, celebrating every dream that you’ve realized together. You made your dreams come true together. Think about it. And the comfort of simply knowing you never have to walk through life alone. How comforting it is to know in life that you’re not alone, that you have someone that unconditionally you can rely on. Isn’t that a sense of joy or peace of happiness?”
