'We Need Your Witness'

The annual Golden Jubilee Mass, which honors couples across the Diocese of Evansville who are celebrating marriages of 50 years or longer, completely filled St. Joseph Church in Jasper on Oct. 18. St. Joseph Parish hosted the Mass and reception that followed it. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Evansville organizes the event annually, and the Catholic Foundation of Southwest Indiana provides gifts for all of the couples.

“We need your witness to the foundation that provides stability in our Church and in our world – the gift of family,” Bishop Charles C. Thompson told those couples during his homily. “We come here to give you thanks for your great witness of marriage, with all the ups and downs and everything in between.

“There are many things going on as we gather for this celebration,” he added. “October is Respect Life Month. The Synod on the Family is taking place with the Holy Father. We have the Year of Consecrated Life, and we have the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy. All of that converges into this moment because vocations are nurtured in marriage and in families.”

The bishop talked about the day’s readings, which included Isaiah 53: 10-11. “Our first reading is one of the four suffering servant psalms in the book of Isaiah,” Bishop Thompson said. “Isaiah the prophet, writing many years before Jesus, speaks of the suffering servant … one who will come along, and who will suffer for the sake of others.

“That’s not how they would have seen it in the time of Jesus,” he added. “In Jesus’ time, they were expecting the Messiah, they were expecting the Savior, but they didn’t expect a suffering Messiah. They expected a Messiah who would come in power, and who would lead them to victory over all their enemies.”

The bishop said the day’s Gospel reading, Mark 10: 35-45, recounts an inauspicious day for Jesus’ apostles. “In that Gospel, we hear about how James and John, the apostles, and the others had difficulty in understanding this notion of the suffering servant Messiah. Jesus had been telling the apostles – His closest friends, those who had been with Him about three years – how He will have to suffer; He will be scourged and be put to death.

“In response, James and John ask to sit one on His left and one on His right. Jesus explains that’s not for Him to give; and the other apostles become angry at James and John. The point is that this is not one of the great moments in the witness of the apostles; it’s one of the darkest moments.

“Notice how Jesus responds,” Bishop Thompson added. “He doesn’t get angry. He responds to them in a very caring, compassionate, loving way. Why? Because He sees something more in them. When you see those kinds of moments in yourself or in your spouse, how do you get beyond them and see something deeper? How do we respond?”

Scores of couples and their families listened as the bishop closed by acknowledging that the Mass would “celebrate the ultimate power in any relationship – that grace of God that allows us to always see the beauty and goodness of the other (person), and not take it for granted … just as Jesus never took for granted a single disciple or a single moment in the lives of those around Him. So, too, we are called to that same Christ-like way of interacting with each other – especially in marriage and family.”

Jubilarians offer advice for happy marriages

Couples attending the Golden Jubilarian Celebration were invited to offer advice for a happy marriage. Here are some of their responses.

• Be kind, trust each other, remember to say “I love you” every day! Most especially, keep God in your life.

• Be best friends.

• Pray together every day.

• Do things together. Go to church, sit together for meals, enjoy vacations together.

• Don’t try to prove yourself right.

• Give more than you receive.

• Laugh often. Never stop courting your wife.

• Make each other the most important.

• Never go to bed angry.

• Say “I love you” several times a day.

• Patience.

• Put Christ first in your marriage.

• Respect and love each other in good times and bad!

• Be humble and sincere, and pray together each day.

• Have a sense of humor.

• There will be good times and bad, but you must remember the love that brought you together at first. Forgive all. Keeping Jesus first in your life is a must or you won’t make it through.

• Three P’s: Prayer, patience and participation.

• Positive attitude.

• We never felt our marriage was a 50-50 marriage, but that it was important to try and give 100 percent by each spouse. It’s also important to keep God’s presence alive.

• Discuss the disagreement.

• Compromise!

• Allow each to have some time and space to themselves.

• Remember your marriage vows.

• Can’t always have it your way. It’s give and take.

• Love, forgive.

• Try to be content with the things you cannot change.

• It takes two to make a marriage work.

• We both made a commitment.

• Make decisions together.