More than 40 people celebrated their marriages by renewing their wedding vows on Sunday, February 12, in Mystical Rose Oratory. The event was sponsored by Alumni Relations and Campus Ministry. It has become an annual tradition at Chaminade in honor of Valentine’s Day and marriage. Some of the couples were newlyweds while others have been married nearly 50 years. Alumni Relations director Be-Jay Kodama and her student assistant Arielle Regis cheerfully handed out red carnations and gave out prayer cards. The renewal followed Mass with couples invited to come up to the altar. Fr. Allen DeLong, SM, the presider, encouraged the couples to hold hands and look into each other’s eyes. They each repeated the vows with a kiss to follow, as Fr. DeLong blessed them.
During refreshments, couples enjoyed each other’s company and remembered the proclamation of love and faithfulness made to each other in the past. Lots of hand holding with a few stolen kisses between bites of chocolate cupcakes continued, thanks to Alumni Relations. Later Kodama shared a Marianist thought from Our Marianist Heritage by Stefanelli (p.94) in light of Valentine’s day: “Father Chaminade insisted on the example of the early Christian Community….they had their quarrels and their battles. But beyond that, they had so much to show forth to the world — a spectacle of love.”
Surely “a spectacle of love” — enduring love– would be an apt description of the couples participating in the wedding vows renewal.