National Marriage Week

Background and History of World Marriage Day
and National Marriage Week

World Marriage Day is an outgrowth of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, an apostolate aimed at helping couples make good marriages even better. World Marriage Day began in 1983 and is celebrated every second Sunday of February in dioceses across the country. In 1993, his Holiness, Pope John Paul II, imparted his Apostolic Blessings on World Marriage Day. The purpose of World Marriage Day is to highlight the beauty of marriage and to honor husbands and wives for their faithfulness and sacrifices.

World Marriage Day does not emphasize marriage to the detriment of other vocations, however. The mission of its founding organization Worldwide Marriage Encounter is “to proclaim the value of Marriage and Holy Orders in the Church and in the world.”

The Worldwide Marriage Encounter organization also sponsors World Priest Day on the fourth Sunday of October. “We believe that building stronger relationships between priests and their people can rebuild our Church! We are together on our faith journey. World Priest Day (WPD) is a celebration and affirmation of the men who commit their lives to the Lord and the Church via the Sacrament of Holy Orders. It is an opportunity for Catholic Parishioners to thank, affirm and share their love and support for our priests.”

National Marriage Week USA, launched in 2010, is part of an international event seeking to mobilize individuals, organizations, and businesses in a common purpose to strengthen marriage in communities and influence the culture. The Secretariat on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a full set of resources to bishops, priests, deacons, married couples, and lay men and women to help celebrate and live the great gift of married life.
           -             Diocese of Trenton Web site

National Marriage Week, 2024

This weekend (February 3-4) is the kickoff for celebrating National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14) and World Marriage Day (Sunday, Feb.11). The theme for 2024’s celebration of National Marriage Week is, Love Beyond Words. This year’s mission encourages couples to put their love into action and raise awareness of the profound positive impact strong marriages have on society. We are reminded that love goes beyond words and is derived from opening our hearts to others, especially within our most meaningful relationships.

The Diocese of Trenton and our parish are celebrating through various Liturgies and parish activities promoting a Christ centric marriage, and above all, strengthening marriage. Please check the bulletin and our web site for all details.
 

Prayer for Married Couples

Father, as we prepare for World Marriage Day,
we thank you for your tremendous gift of the Sacrament of Marriage.
Help us to witness to its glory by a life of growing intimacy.
Teach us the beauty of forgiveness
so we may become more and more One in Heart, Mind and Body.
Strengthen our dialogue and help us become living signs of your love.
Make us grow more in love with the Church so we may renew the Body of Christ.
Make us a sign of unity in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Brother.
Amen.
 

OLS-SA Parish Liturgies

Come join us for special liturgies designed to strengthen marriage. If you are not able to attend in person, they will be “live-streamed”. They will also be available on our Web site.

Sunday, February 4

Holy Hour for Marriage <====

February 10 / 11

World Marriage Sunday

Celebrated at all Masses

OLS-SA Parish Activities

Join our Parish Flash Mob for Marriage

2023
Event Links:

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK: A Message from Msgr. Gervasio

From the Pastor’s Desk for February 12, 2023
Dear Parishioners,
Today we celebrate World Marriage
Day in tribute to husbands and wives as
the foundation of the family. This
observance certainly brings certain
words to mind: love, fidelity, trust, sacrifice,
forgiveness, and perseverance. As Catholics, we see
marriage as a sacrament and covenant relationship.
These qualities and virtues we celebrate in the lives of
married couples.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “Marriage—
one flesh, given and received.” It signifies the one flesh
union of a husband and wife that is willed by God as
well as the personal self-gift of each spouse to one
another. This points to the Lord Jesus who gives himself
to us under the appearance of bread and wine in the
Eucharist, as his real flesh and blood.

In a homily to couples celebrating milestone
anniversaries, Bishop O’Connell offered a reflection that
I make my own today:
“A spiritual life grows as love finds its center
beyond ourselves: in God. Faithful and
committed relationships offer a doorway into
the mystery of spiritual life through which we
discover this: the more we give of self, the
richer we become in soul; the more we go
beyond ourselves in love, the more we become
our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more
fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to
bring one another into fuller life and to belong
to one another not as a ‘possession’ but as a
possibility for true, deep love.”
Homily 15 October 2015
 
My prayer for married couples
is that of the Psalmist  (20: 3,5)

"May the Lord send you help from the holy place
and give you support from Zion.
May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill every one of your designs."

With affection,
Msgr. Gervasio

   
Holy Hour 2/5 Noon OLS Live Stream 


Flash Mob for Marriage      PHOTOS

At Home Retreat



At Home Novena


  

Message from Pope Francis speaking on
The Beauty of Marriage  version two at twitter

  

  Message from Bishop David M. O’Connell

   

Video on Marriage 


 Beloved


Euchristic Revival 

The observances of National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14) and World Marriage Day (Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022) are opportunities for married couples to reflect on how they have grown together since their wedding day and to ponder how they can continue to grow in loving and honoring their spouse.

Here in the Diocese of Trenton, our parishes commemorate World Marriage Day and National Marriage Week in a variety of ways, but most importantly by incorporating prayers and blessings for marriage into the Sunday liturgy and by hosting marriage-building activities in the parish.

Please check the bulletin and our web site over the next couple of weeks for details on liturgies and activities. Why not start off with being part of our Parish Flash Mob for Marriage?

A Special Invitation for Married Couples at OLS-SA

All married couples and their families are invited to take part in our Parish Flash Mob for Marriage!

It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3:

1. Download and print the "Happily Married" sign in color; fill in # of years married

2. *Take a cell phone picture (perhaps a selfie) with the sign

3. Then send as an attachment to [email protected] by February 11, 2022

* Be creative, include children or grandchildren in your picture, for ideas see videos on the Diocese Of Trenton website.