From staff reports

More than 100 couples joined by family and friends gathered at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Aug. 26 for the Diocese of Dallas Golden Anniversary Mass with Bishop Edward J. Burns as the main celebrant. The annual Mass honors couples who have celebrated 50 years of marriage and was followed by a reception in the Cathedral’s Gran Salon.

In his homily, Bishop Burns welcomed couples celebrating their 50th year of marriage as well as family members and friends who joined them in that celebration.

“It is a joy for us to congratulate you, to support you and to have this opportunity to pray with you,” said Bishop Burns to the couples, adding that their marriages are a beacon of hope for others. “For us, it is a joy when we have an opportunity to strengthen couples like yourselves.”

The bishop added that he understood that all couples have their rough times, with arguments, challenges and even tragedies. He said, however, marriage is modeled after Christ’s love for His church, a sacrificial love.

“Look at all those moments as opportunities to strengthen your love for each other,” Bishop Burns said. “As your shepherd, and as your pastor, I ask you to pray with one another and pray more than just, ‘Bless us, O Lord and these thy gifts.’ See it as an opportunity to really offer prayer and to really grow in your faith together.”

The bishop urged couples to do spiritual exercises as much as they look at their financial affairs, their physical affairs, and their personal affairs.

“Please look at your spiritual affairs because therein lies a great roundedness to your life as well as a very firm foundation to who you are,” he explained. “Give of yourself completely to the other. And, you know the old adage, the greatest gift that the father can give his children is to love their mother. For when children see the love between the two of you, they recognize the great gift that they have in the family.”

In closing, Bishop Burns said there are countless reasons to celebrate the couples’ golden anniversaries.

“We need you because we need you to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, understanding the great truths of marriage and in that marriage, you become a beacon of light and hope for the world to see,” he said. “May God continue to bless you and your loved ones.”

Those couples who registered to be honored during the Diocese of Dallas Golden Anniversary Mass included:

Rogelio and Elva Mora
Blessed Sacrament

Santiago and Virginia Gaeta
Blessed Sacrament

Catarino and María de los Ángeles Zapien
Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Fernando and Margarita Luna
Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Frank and Mary Jane Garza
Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Ignacio and María de los Remedios Guillén
Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

J. Jesús and Raquel R. Loera
Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Rubén Gonzalez and Otilia Pargas
Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Juan Jose and Maria Gonzalez
Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Bruce and Lynn Simoneaux
Christ the King

Carlos and Gloria Lopez
Good Shepherd

Álvaro and Cecilia Gonzalez
Good Shepherd

Juan de Dios and Maria del Rosario Romero
Good Shepherd

Lorenzo and Sylvia Reyes
Good Shepherd

Robert and Victoria Yeatts
Good Shepherd

Jesus y Delia Rosales
Good Shepherd

Francisco and Francisca Gómez
Holy Cross

Ernest William and Maria Anna Chaney
Holy Family of Nazareth

Juan and Blanca Villasana
Holy Spirit

Larry and Sheila Balagna
Holy Spirit

Michael and Carol Lemmon
Holy Spirit

John and Judy Tierney
Immaculate Conception [Corsicana]

Enrique and Lidia Torres
Immaculate Conception [Grand Prairie]

George and Oliva Saldivar
Immaculate Conception [Grand Prairie]

Ronald and Kathleen Ruyle
Mary Immaculate

Anthony and Bianca Tan Setiawan
Mary Immaculate

John and Yvette Mouser
Our Lady of Angels

Felipe and Reinalda Cárdenas
Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Francisco and Francisca M. González
Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Randall and Sharon Grizzle
Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Lupe and Diane Gonzales
Our Lady of the Lake [Rockwall]

Tom and Susan Whipple
Our Lady of the Lake [Rockwall]

Lorenzo and Lora Villarreal
Prince of Peace

David and Kay Barber
Prince of Peace

Anthony and Carol Azcue Jr.
Sacred Heart [Rowlett]

Ron and Gaby Hinckley
Sacred Heart [Rowlett]

Rosalinda and Francisco Dávila
Sacred Heart [Rowlett]

Ignacio Coronado and Esperanza Dávila Coronado
Santa Clara Of Assisi

Jin Kim and Jeong Soon Kim
St. Andrew Kim

YoungWoog Cho and SangHee Song
St. Andrew Kim

Andrés and Elaine Campos
St. Ann [Coppell]

José and Rose Cisneros
St. Ann [Coppell]

Larry and Yvonne Martinez
St. Anthony [Wylie]

Lorenzo and Juana Rocha
St. Anthony [Wylie]

Clayton and Jill Killam
St. Augustine

Jesús and María Guadalupe Cedillo
St. Cecilia

Rojelio and Olivia Martinez
St. Cecilia

Jesus y Maria Guadalupe Cedillo
St. Cecilia

Maximiano and Ma Rogelia Martinez
St. Edward

Frederick and Mary Wiatrowski
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Terrell and Sue Landry
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Tom and Diana VanHootegem
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

William and Bonita Larsen
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

A.C. and Jeanie DeLeon
St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Mike and Patty Satarino
St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Lawrence and Phyllis Seidemann
St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Leonard and Virginia Schmitt
St. Francis of Assisi [Frisco]

James and Christine Taylor
St. Francis of Assisi [Frisco]

Franklin and Shirley Frye
St. Gabriel the Archangel

Robert and Elizabeth Andrzejewski
St. Gabriel the Archangel

Keith and Michelle Jantz
St. John Nepomucene

Arthur and Rebecca Ramirez
St. Joseph [Richardson]

John and Cheryl Fel
St. Joseph [Richardson]

Bill and Kathy Rackley
St. Joseph [Richardson]

John and Cheryl Felderhoff
St. Joseph [Richardson]

Wayne and Pamela Tiritilli
St. Joseph [Richardson]

Bill and Kathy Rackley
St. Joseph [Richardson]

Álvaro and Francisca Sánchez
St. Joseph [Waxahachie]

Trung Thi Nguyen and Dinh Xuan Dau
St. Joseph Vietnamese

Allan and Rosemarie Hrncir
St. Jude [Allen]

Dale and Joyce Szyndrowski
St. Mark the Evangelist

Jon and Diana Gartner
St. Mark the Evangelist

Rene and Flor de Maria Valle
St. Mark the Evangelist

Tom and Marj Carrington
St. Mark the Evangelist

Eligio and Judy Trevino
St. Martin of Tours

Andrew and Diana Goronga
St. Michael the Archangel [Garland]

Ernesto and Yolanda Celedon
St. Michael the Archangel [Grand Prairie]

Ignacio and María S. Guevara
St. Michael the Archangel [McKinney]

Antonio and Gloria Herrera
St. Monica

Mark and Georgia Johnson
St. Patrick [Dallas]

Everett and Rebecca Spaeth
St. Patrick [Dallas]

Mark and Georgia Johnson
St. Patrick [Dallas]

Francis and Julie Carroll
St. Paul the Apostle

Francis and Julie Carroll
St. Paul the Apostle

Daniel and Jacqueline Scofield
St. Pius X

Jim and Carol Newman
St. Pius X

Brian Boru and Katherine Savers McGovern
St. Rita

Dr. David and Martha Alameel
St. Rita

Greg and Noreen Humenesky
St. Rita

Arturo y Marina Covarrubias

Alfredo Barrón and María Eugenia Rubio

Sal and Janet Trapani