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Over 200 people gathered on Saturday June 3 at St John’s Cathedral in Norwich for the annual Marriage Celebration Mass to celebrate the joy of holy matrimony and significant wedding anniversaries. Antonia Braithwaite reports.
The couple celebrating the longest anniversary were Jan and Michael Johnson, who were married 65 years ago in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist itself!
In his homily, Bishop Peter reflected on Jesus in the upper room during the Last Supper who told His disciples: ‘as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love’. The Bishop encouraged all married couples to remember that love is not simply an emotion or a mere sentiment, but rather it is ultimate commitment.
“From that first treasured encounter, one with the other, you began the ascent of the mountain of love,” said Bishop Peter. “By God’s grace, step by step, sacrifice by sacrifice, you have laboured with hands and heart to build a shared life, a loving companionship.”
As the married couple journey through life, they together explore the territories of love as ultimate commitment, an exploration which is never complete until we rest in God.
“Love has infinite depth” continued Bishop Peter, “and it is obedience to God that brings all human joy and human experience to its fulfilment”. This is lived out in the myriad of small and large daily choices made by a husband and a wife, motivated by their love of God and love for each other.
“Love one another, as I have loved you,” says our Lord Jesus to every married couple.
See below for a picture gallery of the Mass. Pictures from the gallery are free to download and use. Use the button in the bottom right-hand corner of each photograph.
