Foundation of society and an example of fidelity: the Indonesian Church celebrates marriage

On the occasion of World Day for Marriage 140 couples renew their vows. In August, the festivities for "Iron Wedding" of an active couple in the enterprise and in volunteering. Archbishop of Jakarta: the sacrament is "the celestial love of God: without conditions and perfect."

 

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Marriage as the foundation of society and the Catholic family as an example of faithfulness, loyalty, love and mutual respect of the wedding vows. In this spirit, the Indonesian Catholic Church celebrated some special events dedicated to the sacrament, including the 70th and the 50th wedding anniversary of two couples who have become an example for the whole community.

The Archbishop of Jakarta recalled how those testimonies have a model to follow of how to stay together, despite the many difficulties, obstacles and "bad days" that the couples will have to face along their journey.

To mark the World Day for Marrieage, on 12 February, at least 140 Christian couples gathered  in the capital for a special Mass presided by Msgr. Ignatius Suharyo the Stella Maris parish in Pluit, North Jakarta. To promote the event (click here for the video), the Jakarta Marriage Encounter (Me), a local group established with the objective of strengthening the relationship between husband and wife, in the context of the values ​​promoted by Catholic doctrine.

The agency has been operating for over 30 years to support the relationship between the spouses and promote Christian couples, and values ​​in society. A task even more delicate given that Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world and Catholics are a small minority, accounting for about 3% of the total population.

During the ceremony, the couples renewed their marriage vows - many of them in the presence of children - in front of the altar and showed the community the values ​​at the basis of a relationship: a relationship that does not end, mutual fidelity and loyalty to the promises made. During the celebrations the Archbishop wanted to dedicate a special mention to a married couple celebrating a 65th wedding anniversary.

During his homily, Msgr. Suharyo stressed that marriage is a "public witness" of "unconditional and heavenly" love of God. "The spousal relationship - added the prelate - is human, but it is then elevated to a higher status through the sacrament of marriage . This type of relationship can be the celestial love of God: without conditions and perfect. "

In recent months the Indonesian Catholic Church paid tribute to some Indonesian couples who, with their lives and their testimony, witnessed the value and meaning of Christian marriage. Last August 92 year old Pandji Wisaksana and his wife Trijuani celebrated 70 years of marriage [iron wedding]. An anniversary which took place in Central Jakarta in the presence of dozens of entrepreneurs and businessmen, present to celebrate a prominent personality in the world of volunteering and charitable outreach.

Pandji Wisaksana, in fact, promoted free programs for cataract operations and support for the less fortunate through the Matahati foundation. A commitment born from childhood, because his father had lost his sight because of the toxic exhalation during the years of work in the mines. Earlier, in June, the same parish of St. John the Baptist had celebrated their golden wedding anniversary [50 years of marriage] of Paul Sutandi and Pieneke Mariana Sutandi, a pair of entrepreneurs active in the community. Active in the world of fashion, Ms. Mariana wanted to thank the Lord for these "50 years of marriage" and hoped that their union could be an example for many others on the "indivisibility" of the sacrament.

Finally, in early March a dozen Indonesian Catholic couples made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In the church of Cana, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine, they renewed their marriage vows in the context of a simple Eucharistic celebration concelebrated by three fellow priests who accompanied them on the journey.

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