‘Joyfully Married: Witnesses to Love’ is Marriages of Grace event theme
(This is a republished article written by the Diocese of Cleveland on March 6, 2019)
100 couples attended the 2019 Marriages of Grace annual marriage enrichment day on March 2 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Independence. The daylong event was a time for couples to focus on themselves and their marriages. It began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Nelson Perez, who was assisted by Father Ryan Mann. A social with heavy hors d’oeuvres followed Mass.
Father Mann gave the keynote address, which was followed by breakout sessions. Attendees could choose between two of four options: “Let all That you do be Done in Love,” by Bill and Tina Cerha; “This is our Time” by Mark and Christi Tripodi, founders of Cornerstone of Hope, a Center for Grieving Children, Teens and Adults; “Forming Faithful Families” by Tim and Mary Ellen Jakubisin; and “What Should I Slaughter Today, Honey?” by Tommy and Cara Dome.
Several diocesan priests were on hand to hear confessions after the breakout sessions.
Cocktails and a social time followed confession. Milestones of marriage were recognized, there was a candlelight dinner and testimony by Lauren and Mark Loboda, followed by closing remarks.
Coordinating the event were Tanis and Bill Merimee, as well as other volunteers.
Bishop Perez congratulated those in attendance, telling them, “It is good that you carved out time for yourselves. The marriage bond is very important,” he said, adding a good marriage is a gift for the couple’s children. Often couples make the mistake of setting their children as their focus. While the children are important, the bishop said a strong marriage is the foundation of a good family. He said in the Gospel the disciples wanted to remove the children so they didn’t bother Jesus, but he admonished them and said to bring the children to him.
He also talked about how God shared signs with people – things they often overlooked – to show that he loved them. Manna in the desert was one sign. But he said the people complained that was all they had to eat. He said Moses went back up the mountain to speak with God and when he returned, the people had eaten their fill, but they were worshiping false gods.
“God gave them signs, but they fell back into their old ways,” the bishop said. “He gave them even more signs to show that he still loved them, and then he gave them the ultimate sign: Christ himself. The one word that summarizes the totality of love is Jesus.”
And the ultimate sign of Christ is the cross, he told the gathering. “It was the worst way, the most humiliating way to die,” the bishop said. Today, many people wear a cross as jewelry – something he said would have never happened in Jesus’ time.
That sign – the cross – celebrates others signs, the bishop said, referring to the sacraments. He and Father Mann were ordained, “flaws, wrinkles and all,” he said, adding that the way he sees himself is not how the people of the diocese see him. “I see myself as just Nelson, not your bishop.”
He also reminded them that marriage unfolds over the years. He said his parents had a long marriage, but in recent years, his father was ill and became bedridden. His parents still loved each other, but his father was unable to love his mother in the same way as earlier in their marriage.
“Through the sacrament of marriage, you are called to be signs – to be a reflection of how God loves the world,” Bishop Perez told those gathered.
In his keynote address, Father Mann said he knew his life would be about marriage, but he was not called to the sacrament. However, as a priest, his service to the sacrament involves helping couples to prepare for marriage and witnessing the sacrament. He also offers counsel to couples when needed.
He talked about love and how those in love say they give each other everything. “But married love says I’ll be poor if I give you all that I have.”
Father Mann, who was ordained in 2014, serves as a parochial vicar at St. John Neumann Parish in Strongsville and has been a chaplain and spiritual director for the Theology of the Body Institute on several occasions. He also serves as spiritual director for the Cleveland Chapter of Retrouvaille Ministries International, an organization that helps struggling couples.
He shared the story of a French couple, Elisabeth and Felix Leseur. A devout Catholic, Elisabeth was in poor health much of her life. Her husband, a medical doctor, was a leader of a French anti-clerical and atheistic movement. Elisabeth prayed for her husband and his conversion. She once told him that she would die first and he would return to the Catholic faith and become a priest. She was right, and he spent the rest of his life defending the faith. She is in the process of being named a saint and there is talk of opening a case for Father Leseur’s beatification.
Father Mann spoke of how Jesus is portrayed as the bridegroom in the Church and women religious are seen as brides of the Church. He told the couples that Jesus wants to be with them – “he is friend and bridegroom. He is what we’ve been searching for. Jesus’ death on the cross was an act of love. He has a zeal to renew you – he wants to teach us to love heroically.”
He also guided the couples through a time of prayer in which they focused on memories of their relationship while whispering Jesus’ name as a litany. “He’s alive and well in this room,” he told them.
During the event, there was a prayer for marriages, a prayer for families and married couples, a wedding anniversary prayer, a spouses’ prayer and a parents’ prayer.
The Merimees, who have been married since 1992 and have nine children, told the group that last year’s enrichment day theme was “Pursuing Your Spouse in Marriage – a Labor of Love,” reminding them that they first dated, then fell deeply in love before marrying.
“Dating your spouse is a good idea,” Bill Merimee said, something he tries to do monthly with his wife.
Tanis Merimee said sometimes busy lives get in the way, which provides challenges, but it is important to focus on your spouse and your relationship.