Saturday, September 12, saw couples from across the Diocese of Lansing converge upon Saint Patrick in Brighton for a Celebration of Marriage consisting, as it did, of Holy Mass followed by a celebratory reception. Here are some stories from some of the happy couples who were present. God bless them all. Ad multos annos!
Tue Nguyen and Dung Cao, of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac Parish in Lansing, won the unofficial “contest” for longest-married couple in attendance. This year, they are celebrating 70 years of marriage. The couple, who are 90 and 87 years old, married in Vietnam in 1956 and emigrated to the United States in 1990. They say that forgiveness is the key to a long, happy marriage. “Remember the Gospel? If you make a mistake, how many times do you have to forgive? God said seven times 70. That means unlimited.”
David and Melissa Struppa, of Saint Patrick Parish in Brighton, are celebrating 35 years of marriage this year. How did they get that far together? “Put God at the center of your marriage. If we didn’t have faith, it would be really easy to quit on each other,” says David.
“Everything has a season, and if you leave during the bad season, you never experience that next beautiful season, and we’ve experienced that. We always think if we had quit during the bad season, we never would have experienced the many blessings we’ve had. Now we have nine grandkids.”
One of the blessings modern couples have, David said, is robust marriage preparation programs, for which they have served as a mentor couple a few times.
“The marriage prep they have now is amazing, and if couples put themselves into it as they ought, they will get so much out of it,” he said. “We didn’t have that when we were getting married. We’ve been able to be a mentor couple for a few couples, and we’ve seen fruits even in our own marriage. It really is inner strength on how to give the love back.”
Meanwhile, congratulations to Jason and Amber Tower, of Saint Matthew Parish in Flint, on celebrating 10 years of marriage together this year. Jason currently teaches at Powers Catholic High School, and Amber has previously taught at the school as well. Their advice, especially as they navigate a busy season with children 9, 7, 5, and 2.5 years old? “Just telling ourselves we’re all on the same team. Sometimes it’s the same team of all six of us, and sometimes it’s a team of two versus a team of four. Confession helps.”
Forty years of marriage together have taught Christopher and Ann-Marie Pemberton a few things. Especially in the last nine years, Christopher said his wife has been “my guardian angel.” “I’ve had a bone marrow transplant, a kidney transplant… and she got me through it all.”
Ann-Marie, in turn, called her husband “a miracle man.” The couple, who attend Saint Dominic Oratory in Clinton, attribute the strength in their marriage to keeping Christ at the center and remembering their vows to care for each other “in sickness and in health.”
Finally, newly ordained permanent deacon Leon Demers and his wife, Carlene, of Saint Patrick Parish in Brighton, recently celebrated 38 years of marriage. “The beginning was rough, rough, rough,” Carlene said. “I was a lukewarm (Catholic), and he kind of wasn’t going to church. And now look at him—he’s a deacon!” Deacon Demers added that “when we learned to put God first, things got easier in the marriage. Prayer, and finally listening to God, has been the glue in our marriage.”
Congratulations to all couples celebrating marriage anniversaries in the Diocese of Lansing!
