97 couples renew their vows at special Mass

IC photo/Laura Vallejo

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Couples renew their vows during a Feb. 14 Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.

SALT LAKE CITY — The energy of love, family unity and happiness generated when 97 couples gather to renew their marriage vows makes the heart warm, said Ema Salgado, who attended the Feb. 14 Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Salt Lake City where the event occurred.

“Being here today makes me feel very excited. ... To see all these couples renewing their vows gives me strength to fight each day,” said Salgado, an Our Lady of Guadalupe parishioner, who was present to support the godparents of one of her children who were renewing their vows.

Father Jorge Roldan, pastor, welcomed everyone to the standing-room-only event, saying, “It’s a real joy to be able to be together tonight to renew your marriage vows and to witness that you have found this special person to share your lives with.”

The Mass was one of joy and celebration that was worth sharing with the world, he said.

“God, almighty and eternal, has solidified your commitment in love through sadness, sorrows and trials, but all that has made your love stronger and sacred, committing yourselves to one another, with your children and grandchildren,” he said.

Some of the couples who renewed their vows at the Mass have been married for almost 60 years, while others were recently married.

The Catholic Church celebrates National Marriage Week Feb. 7-14, “and this year as Catholics we want to celebrate this day that commercially is called St. Valentine’s and that has been confused with giving hearts and red roses, which is OK, but nevertheless our Church, in our faith, we wanted to celebrate this day with this Mass remembering what you promised to each other some years ago,” Fr. Roldan said.

Union is the love that was being celebrated that day, he added.

“We are not celebrating what the world is selling us, we are celebrating the union of your lives through love, the love that comes from God that translates into your marriages,” he said.

Asking the couples to recall their wedding day, when they arrived at the church excited to commit to each other, and promise their eternal love and respect for each other, “most likely you didn’t know what was ahead of you,” Fr. Roldan said. “As the days passed you faced trials, you realized maybe that he or she snored, that he or she didn’t wear deodorant ... but love goes beyond that.”

Quoting Pope Francis about a healthy marriage being more than a romantic dream, Fr. Roldan said, “Marriage is a lifelong investment and vital to your wellbeing and to the wellbeing of your children and future generations. When your children grow in a marriage that has respect, that accompanies each other, that supports each other, a life plan for their own personal relationships, your children feel safe, worthy and have the trust to navigate through this world.”

Investing in healthy marriages “is not just about today, it is about tomorrow,” he continued. “A strong and healthy marriage translates into healthy and strong families that build strong and healthy communities, and today the perfect homily is you and your marriages.”

Among those at the celebration were Teresa Soto and Antonio Cisneros, who are going into 25 years of marriage. They said that when Fr. Roldan invited all the married couples in the parish to the special Mass to renew their vows, they felt immense joy.

“We wanted to be here today so God can keep blessing our union,” said Teresa Soto, adding that being able to share the renewal of their vows with their two children was a great blessing.

“When they were growing up they asked us why they weren’t in our wedding, and today here they are with us,” she said.

Their children “are our blessing from our union 25 years ago, so we are very happy that they are here with us,” Antonio Cisneros added.

Teresa also shared that when Antonio asked her to marry him, she told him “that maybe I could not have children, and look at our family now,” she said.

“This is something really important for us, seeing our parents so happy and renewing their vows makes me feel very proud of them,” their daughter said. “I admire them. I feel as a Catholic that their marriage is a real blessing.”