Couples of all ages walked into the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception holding hands and smiling, and some brought along their families to attend the Annual Wedding Anniversary Mass to Celebrate the Vocation of Marriage on Feb. 11. 

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr. celebrated the Mass. During his homily, the auxiliary bishop tied together the day’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew. 

“What we celebrate in these couples’ anniversaries is what we hear in our Gospel. You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. You have joined with each other as one,” Bishop Campbell said. “In many cases, this has been for most of your lives.”

Bishop Campbell explained the role God has in the long-lasting relationships being celebrated.  

“Being joined as one flesh is possible because one, of your faith in God, and two, your hope and His promises, and three, your love of God has strengthened your self-giving love between the two of you,” he said.

At the end of his homily, Bishop Campbell asked the married couples to stand up to renew their vows.

The Catholic Standard had the opportunity to interview couples who attended the Mass. The McDuffies were celebrating their fifth anniversary together. Jason and Elizabeth McDuffie met on a Catholic dating website. They are members of St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland and were married at Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda.

As they recalled their wedding, Elizabeth McDuffie said her husband was so nervous he nearly fainted.

Religion was important to both parties, as Jason McDuffie converted to Catholicism years prior to joining the website after learning about it in a young adult group. Elizabeth McDuffie was a woman religious in Italy for a decade and left the order before making final vows.  

“Before we met I was a sister...I think that’s why faith is so important to me, because I learned so much there,” she said. “It was a life training experience. So that’s why I wanted to marry someone who is very faithful, who is very committed to the faith.”

Faith has also played a large part as the two plan to expand their family.

“We’re in the process of adopting, to help someone else and also bring love, having a loving family, because we’re older it’s a little harder. So being infertile is a little difficult, I think our faith helped us through that. We have hope, hopefully we will adopt a child this year or next year,” Elizabeth McDuffie said.

When it comes to advice, the McDuffies borrow what another couple, from Canada, that had been together almost 50 years told them when they were traveling in Ireland. 

“‘If he wants to go hunting, let him go hunting,’” Elizabeth McDuffie said about respecting each other’s different interests. “Give him that freedom he needs.”

Betty and Raymond Briscoe attended the Mass as well and will celebrate their 60th anniversary in June. The pair, who are members of Christ the King Parish in Silver Spring, Maryland, said they hope to celebrate with their family. Their wedding was at Holy Redeemer Church in College Park, Maryland, Raymond Briscoe’s childhood parish. 

Betty Briscoe explained that they met when she was working for the U.S. Government Printing Office. 

“I was having lunch with a friend there, and he was having lunch with his friends, he worked there. I saw him… so it started from there. I guess the mutual admiration society,” Briscoe said. 

Two years later, the two were married. Raymond Briscoe said being Catholic and not believing in divorce as an option has played a major part in the longevity of their relationship, along with maintaining a balance in the relationship. Betty Briscoe agreed, 

“I'd say, in marriages, especially long marriages, there's a lot of give and take, and you have to be willing to give and take as he [my husband] says, it's a balance, you know? And, and you pray and you ask the Lord to continue to guide you because you believe that the Lord has brought this person into your life and you better stick with him,” Betty Briscoe said.

Raymond Briscoe did not initially propose, however. He said it was Betty Briscoe’s idea. 

“After we had decided that we were for each other… I asked him if he would ask my dad if could marry me. And he did. And by the time we got from one side of the city over to where my grandmother lived, everybody over there knew about it because my dad and mom had called them and told them. That’s what happened,” Betty Briscoe said. 

Raymond Briscoe said he believes that “the way that I saw it, she proposed to me.” 

They share a son and two grandchildren, which Betty Briscoe calls “a fairy tale story.”

“We’ve been very much blessed to stay together through thick and thin, to have this wonderful son and his family. I don’t think I could ask for more,” Betty Briscoe said. She said that having a Catholic family was important to her. 

“I think people who don’t marry into the same religion are extraordinary. But I think the people who marry in the same religion are very blessed. I think it was a big thing for me to have a Catholic husband and a Catholic family,” Betty Briscoe said.

She shared her advice for those considering taking the next big step in their relationships.

“I think you should take your time. You shouldn't rush into it. Decide if your intend to have the same lifestyle. Know a little bit about their background, because family is everything. Some families don't blend. Take your time,” Betty Briscoe said. 

Raymond Briscoe shared his own experience in considering marriage -- that started with considering a life completely without it. 

“I, at one time, felt that I would never get married. I wanted to be the uncle that I’m named after,” Raymond Briscoe said. “ I had a lot of aspirations when I was younger. I wanted to be a priest, but then I looked at what was offered there, and I said, ‘Well, I think I'd rather get married before I [become a priest]. I look at it as if the world was put out there for me to choose, and I was able to choose what I wanted with the blessings of God. I seem to have done pretty well.”