Church, diocese celebrate sacrament of marriage

The Diocese of Corpus Christi will celebrate a Wedding Anniversary Mass on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 9:30 a.m. at Corpus Christi Cathedral in observance of World Marriage Day. Bishop Michael Mulvey will celebrate the Mass for couples who have completed or will complete 25 or 50 years of marriage in 2017.
 
All couples celebrating their 25th and 50th anniversary will receive a certificate commemorating their silver or golden anniversary. Couples celebrating more than 50 years of marriage are also invited to attend. A certificate reception and light refreshments will follow the Mass in St. Joseph’s Hall. The couples will have the opportunity to take a commemorative photo with Bishop Mulvey.
 
“Promoting and strengthening marriage remains a pastoral priority of our Conference,” said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). “Marriage, both as a natural institution and as a Christian sacrament, is an irreplaceable good for society and all people.”
 
The USCCB provides numerous resources that promote, strengthen and defend the gift of marriage as the lifelong union of one man and one woman, including the websites For Your Marriage, Por Tu Matrimonio, and Marriage: Unique for a Reason.
 
Archbishop Chaput encouraged participation in the “Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty,” an invitation to prayer and sacrifice for the protection of life, marriage, and religious liberty in the country.
 
A daily virtual marriage retreat for National Marriage Week, observed on Feb. 7-14 is also available through Facebook: www.facebook.com/foryourmarriage. This year’s retreat draws from both Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia and the USCCB pastoral letter Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan.
 
The celebration of National Marriage Week in the U.S. began in 2002, originating from Marriage Week International. Worldwide Marriage Encounter started world Marriage Day in 1983 and is held the second Sunday of February each year. In the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Worldwide Marriage Encounter will hold a marriage encounter weekend on Feb. 24–26, at Our Lady of Corpus Christi Retreat Center.