Marriage day gave wonderful witness to the sacrament

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On June 26, a very special and important Mass was celebrated by Archbishop John Nienstedt in our beautiful and awe-inspiring Cathedral. It hon­ored couples celebrating their silver and golden anniversaries and all couples celebrating greater than 50 years. All married people present were invited to renew their vows.

Letters

Those couples of 25 years, 50 years, and over 50 years who registered for the reception numbered over 500. The families and guests of the honorees, the public at large, was a much larger number. This was a large crowd witnessing to the sacrament of marriage.

We were delighted with the recognition of the importance of marriage and family. We sat next to Arthur and LaVerne Laliberte of Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale. The Laliberte’s have been married 71 years and were the longest-married couple attending the Mass. We have known members of their family who are excellent examples of faith-filled people giving Christian example of family life and service. As Catholics, we must give good, holy examples of family life.

Some families in our now-closed Holy Childhood Grade School have children who, when grown, will be a holy gift to our nation. The link of parents forming their children as Catholic citizens is vital. The lack of commitment to marriage and family of many Americans is a crisis to our nation.

The marriage day Mass is an excellent demonstration to the community of proper family formation. It should be widely publicized in the press. Let us remember that the sacrament of marriage is the way to start a family.

Merlyn and Bernadine Scroggins
Holy Childhood, St. Paul
Merlyn has been a long time Director and former President of the Catholic Defense League
Bernadine has been a member of and active in the Catholic Nurses Association
They both have been long time participators in pro-life causes.