Chicagoland

Golden marriages rely on patience, forgiveness

By Chicago Catholic
Thursday, September 21, 2017

Golden wedding anniversary Mass

Barry and Kay Wawrzyn from St Marys in Lake Forest and June and Dennis Spoonhour from St. Alexander in Palos Hills renew their vows as Cardinal Cupich was the main celebrant and homilist for a special Mass for couples celebrating 50 years of marriage at Holy Name Cathedral on Sept. 17, 2017.
Barry and Kay Wawrzyn from St Marys in Lake Forest and June and Dennis Spoonhour from St. Alexander in Palos Hills renew their vows as Cardinal Cupich was the main celebrant and homilist for a special Mass for couples celebrating 50 years of marriage at Holy Name Cathedral on Sept. 17. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Cardinal Cupich accepts the gifts from an anniversary couple during a special Mass for couples celebrating 50 years of marriage at Holy Name Cathedral on Sept. 17. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

The secret to a half-century of marriage is patience, according to several couples who participated in the Sept. 17 Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass at Holy Name Cathedral.

That’s what Felicia Geinosky said while waiting to get a picture taken outside the cathedral before the Mass.

“Just know you’re in it together,” added her husband, Fred Geinosky. The couple got married July 15, 1967, at Five Holy Martyrs Parish, 4327 S. Richmond St. They now are members of St. Julian Eymard Parish in Elk Grove Village.

Also in line for a photo were Josephine and Fernando Guerrero, who married in the Philippines on Nov. 16, 1967. Four days later, they left for Canada. They’ve lived in the Chicago area since 1971, and are members of Holy Family Parish in Inverness.

“If there’s love, there’s patience and understanding,” Josephine Guerrero said.

They were among about 410 couples who attended the annual Mass recognizing those who are celebrating golden wedding anniversaries this year,
Cardinal Cupich celebrated the Mass and preached on the theme of forgiveness from the Gospel text for the day. Every marriage, especially those that have lasted a half-century, needs forgiveness time and time again; and every time one member of a couple forgives the other, both have an opportunity to grow, the cardinal said.

“You have grown in your understanding that God always calls you to something new because of his forgiveness and your forgiveness of one another,” Cardinal Cupich said. “Your forgiveness of one another has made you better parents, better friends to others, better participants in the life of the church.”

Topics:

  • marriage

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