Congratulations on Your Golden Anniversary and Welcome to this Web Page Just for You!
Your 50th anniversary deserves an amazing celebration, and the gratitude and recognition of your family, friends and parish community. Here you will find everything you need to celebrate your 50th anniversary in truly meaningful ways. In addition to creative gift ideas specifically for golden anniversary couples, You’ll find inspiration and tools for the next phase of your marriage, the greatest years of all, and "A Word on Catholic Marriage," a section devoted to the beauty of Catholic marriage in the golden years.
Fifty years of marriage – while you probably can’t imagine where the years have gone, the entirety of your marriage is a special gift to the world and deserves an awesome celebration.
Did you know that you are members of a very privileged group? According to U. S. census bureau statistics, only six percent of married couples in our country are able to commemorate 50 years of marriage. You did it, so it’s time to celebrate!
Significance of Gold for Fifty Years of Marriage
Gold is a precious metal with unique physical characteristics that make it very valuable. Gold is a noble metal because it does not oxidize. It symbolizes prosperity, strength, wisdom and lifelong love, and is the inspiration for all kinds of gift ideas for golden anniversaries. In ancient times, a common gift from a husband for his wife upon fifty years of marriage was a golden necklace, garland or wreath.
Gold-Themed Gift Ideas
While gold (or gold-plated) jewelry or other ornamental objects made of 10 carat, 14 carat or 18 carat gold are wonderful gifts, there are many creative gold-themed gifts that are far less expensive. Whether you have some extra funds and are willing to splurge or you’re on a tight budget, here are some great gift ideas for you:
Surprise your spouse with a Gold-embossed Holy Water font to hang near your front door.
There’s always room in your Catholic home for another crucifix – this gold-toned crucifix is perfect for your golden anniversary.
Purchase a gold frame and hand print your favorite scripture reading from your wedding in gold ink.
Purchase some pretty dollar store drinking glasses or matching coffee mugs and fill them with an assortment of gold-wrapped chocolates.
Visit this web page for gold-themed gifts of all types and price points, included Waterford Crystal gold-rimmed champagne glasses.
Other Special Ideas for a Meaningful 50th Anniversary Celebration
A Papal Blessing for Your Marriage
One of the most special gifts you can receive as a 50th anniversary couple is a papal blessing (Benediction Papalis). Such blessings are available to Catholics to commemorate important events in their lives that are deeply connected to their Catholic faith. Your golden anniversary deserves the blessing and gratitude of our Holy Father, who often speaks of the beauty of enduring marriages.
Sharing Your Love Story with Future Generations
Another important way for semicentennial couples to observe their anniversary is by writing down your marrriage and family story so it can be shared with future generations. Tracing our family history and learning the stories of our ancestors gives meaning to our lives and helps us understand where we come from and why we are here. The website, Lastly.com, offers five easy ways to get started in recording your story for your posterity. Begin by recording a message to your loved ones on the day of your 50th wedding anniversary.
For Catholic couples blessed with children and grandchildren, A Grandparent’s Gift of Memories: A Pilgrimage With the Saints is a workbook that gives couples a way to connect their personal story to our universal Catholic story, and in particular to the lives of the saints. Sharing your story with your loved ones in this powerful way is one of the greatest legacies you can leave for future generations, and it is one of the greatest gifts for your marriage. What a wonderful way to observe the golden jubilee of your marriage!
Other Ideas...
Couples celebrating 50 years of marriage can receive special anniversary greetings from the White House (Click here to learn more).
One easy way to celebrate your anniversary at home is to create a playlist of special songs from 1970 (or ask someone to create it for you), enjoy a glass of wine as you listen together and don't hesitate to get up and dance.
Watch a special movie or favorite TV show together from 1970 to help recreate what life was like back then.
Go on a nature walk or hike together and enjoy a picnic outdoors.
Attend morning mass together to thank God for each other.
Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament together (begin the annual tradition of a Holy Hour for your anniversary)
Pray over the scripture readings from your wedding. Scripture is the living Word of God and will always speak to you differently – discover together what God is asking you to do right now in the present.
As Catholics we are pilgrims on a journey - always learning more about our faith and always growing closer to God. Even the most experienced Catholic couples can learn something new, and all couples in every stage of marriage need to do the work of nurturing and sustaining their relationship.
The various resources listed on this page represent the work of these specialists in Catholic marriage and were carefully selected to help enrich and sustain your marriage. We hope they are a source of inspiration and assistance for all those wonderful golden years to come.
Great Websites and Videos for Catholic Marriage
foryourmarriage.org - For Your Marriage is full-service website for Catholic marriage produced by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's to help couples in all stages of life to understand and live God’s plan for happy, holy marriages. On this site you'll find great content and the latest articles on the full range of topics for 50th annivesary couples, plus the Pope's Corner, reviews of the latest Catholic books, and a segment on Marriage Today.
Topics include: 1) Adult Children, 2) Empty Nest, 3) Enriching Your Marriage, 4) Health Issues, 5) Lifelong Marriage, 6) Stages of Marriage, 7) The Later Years
Better Together Marriage Enrichment Program - The Better Together program from Dynamic Catholic is a free service that covers all the topics associated with marriage in a 12-session series of videos along with couple's workbook to guide your discussions. it is equally effective for marriage preparation and marriage enrichment. Videos are short and impactful; total video time for all 12 sessions is less than 5 hours. Experienced married couples who complete this program may wish to serve as mentors for engaged couples in their parish.
Topics include: 1) God's Dream for Marriage, 2) What Are Your Dreams? 3)The Expectations Gap, 4) Sevel Levels of Intimacy, 5) Conflict is Inevitable, 6) Prayer and Spirituality, 7) Sexuality, 8) Family, 9) Money, 10) The Most Important Word in a Marriage (Forgiveness), 11) Better Every Day, 12) On the Day (for engaged couples)
Beloved Video Series - Finding Happiness in Marriage - So you’ve shared an anniversary or two… or twenty… and you’ve learned a lot about yourselves and each other so far. But what if marriage is more than you think it is? What if God has woven into the very fabric of your humanity a purposeful need and desire that can only be fulfilled in your marriage?
Season 1, The Mystery and Meaning of Marriage; Session Titles: 1) Does Marriage Matter?, 2) Entering the Story of Marriage, 3) Love Revealed, 4) The Total Gift of Self, 5) A Sacramental Bond, 6) Real Challenges, Real Love
Season 2, Living Marriage; Session Titles: 1) Christ at the Center, 2) A Deeper Unity, 3) Conflict and Communication, 4) Building a Thriving Marriage, 5) Protecting the Bond, 6) Sexuality and Authentic Love
Great Books for Catholic Marriage - CLICK HERE for a list of the 31 Best Books for Catholic Marriage
"May God the Eternal Father
keep you of one heart in love for one another,
that the peace of Christ may dwell in you
and abide always in your home.
May you be witnesses in the world to God’s charity,
so that the afflicted and needy who have known your kindness
may one day receive you thankfully
into the eternal dwelling of God." (The Order of Celebrating Matrimony)
Your fifty year marriage is one of most profound signs on earth of all that awaits us in heaven. Couples like you are often asked about the secret to the success of your Catholic marriage. Three of the most common responses among successfully married Catholic couples are:
1) To be thankful for all God's blessings - to appreciate the unique gifts of your spouse every day,
2) To pray together as a couple - the simple act of speaking to God regularly throughout the day and asking for assistance from the Holy Spirit enables couples to respond to each other in a loving, respectful way, even when conflict arises,
3) To serve together as a couple through active involvement in parish life. Your marriage is a vocation of service. One of the best ways to serve your parish and enrich your marriage at the same time is to serve as marriage mentors of the engaged, or to accompany another married couple through a difficult situation. Mentoring calls married couples to a whole new level of generosity, commitment and love - "it is in giving that we receive" (in the words of St. Francis). CLICK HERE to learn more about mentoring in your parish.
[T]his assistance from family to family will constitute one of the simplest, most effective and most accessible means for transmitting from one to another those Christian values which are both the starting point and goal of all pastoral care. Thus young families will not limit themselves merely to receiving, but in their turn, having been helped in this way, will become a source of enrichment for other longer established families, through their witness of life and practical contribution.
-Saint Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio
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