Paulina Loaiza and her husband Carlos Cervantes pose with their children Paulo and Amaya.
By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
For Paulina Loaiza and Carlos Cervantes of St. Mary Parish in Pella, sacramental marriage is an anchor and the lens through which they view the world and love each other. Jan and Scott Miller of St. Patrick Parish-Iowa City have experienced their sacramental marriage through the lens of a multigenerational family, which they believe has enriched their marriage, along with learning how to pray as a couple.
Joy Ripslinger and her fiancé Seamus McGettigan of Tacoma, Washington look forward to entering the sacrament of marriage March 1 at our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Davenport. They have witnessed great examples of the beauty of Catholic marriage that their parents and married siblings have set, Joy says.
The Catholic Messenger is sharing insights from these three couples as our Catholic Church celebrates National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14). “Source of Hope, Spring of Renewal. Pursue a Lasting Love!” is the theme for this year’s celebration, “emphasizing the virtue of hope that permeates the Jubilee Year 2025,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) says.
Here are thoughts from each of the three couples about their commitment to sacramental marriage:
- Paulina and Carlos: “Carlos and I have been married for 15 years. We got married in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, on Dec. 12, 2009. We are both Mexico City natives. Carlos works as an Outreach Specialist at Vermeer Corporation and I serve as the director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry at St. Mary’s in Pella. We are blessed with two kids: Amaya, who is 13 years old and was confirmed this past fall, and Paulo, who is 10 years old and shares the same love for soccer, video games and the Eucharist as his favorite intercessor, Blessed Carlo Acutis.”
“Our Catholic faith is quite literally what brought (Carlos and me) together. We met at a retreat in our early 20s and became good friends. God sure had a plan for us and we have been growing together ever since. Through all the joys, sufferings and challenges as we followed God’s calling away from family and into unexpected plans, our faith has sustained and nourished our relationship. It has always been our anchor and the lens through which we try to look at the world and love each other.”
“I love praying the Mass together, and Carlos loves when we serve as catechists together. Last year, we had the opportunity to experience the National Eucharistic Congress as a family and it was a wonderful opportunity to encounter Christ. All four of us came home with a renewed love for our faith and faith family. For me, it was a reminder of when we first met and all the graces that have been poured out on our family by remaining anchored in Christ, our hope.”
-
Contributed
Jan and Scott Miller of Iowa City pose together.Jan and Scott: “Scott and I met freshman year of college at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where we were both born and raised. We were married in 1986 after college and will be married 39 years on May 17,” Jan said.
“I have been a registered nurse for 40 years and just retired from teaching in June 2024 from The University of Iowa, College of Nursing. Scott is an accountant, has been in various financial positions over the years and is currently the budget officer for the University of Iowa College of Nursing.”
“We have three adult children who were educated through the Regina Catholic Education Center (in Iowa City). Two of them are married. We are grateful to be grandparents to two young grandchildren and the third is due any week now! We had a unique family situation, as our children grew up in a multigenerational household. For the past 30 years, my mother (a widow of 44 years and coming up on her 101st birthday Feb. 13) has lived with our family. Now it’s just Scott, her and me at home. We always included her in everything and cherished witnessing her incredible faith and piety and genuine love for each of us and our children/grandchildren.”
Scott describes how their Catholic faith influences their marriage: “Until death do us part, divorce is not an option. We learned on our Engaged Encounter weekend many years ago that God is with us as a ‘cord of three strands’ to help us strengthen our relationship and maintain unity.”
“We have learned how to pray together over the years, not just at Mass,” Jan says. “We try to surround ourselves with other couples who have similar values and strong marital relationships. We participate in marriage enrichment activities offered through the diocese, our church and Catholic media, such as Relevant Radio, EWTN and FORMED. We are co-learners and share our relationship as a Sponsor Couple walking with an engaged couple through the ‘For Better and Forever’ marital preparation process about once a year.”
-
Contributed
Joy Ripslinger and Seamus McGettigan plan to marry March 1 at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Davenport.Joy and Seamus: “Seamus and I are getting married on March 1, we are so excited! Seamus and I are both 26 and currently living in Tacoma, Washington. We met in 2020 during COVID-19 on the Hinge dating app — we both had the ‘Catholic filter’ on so that we’d find someone of the same faith. Seamus is a Space Operations captain in the Army, and I am a sales representative for Cintas.”
“We both fully believe in the faith and feel that it’s the best way to live and help each other get to heaven. Both of our parents, all of our married siblings and many close friends have been great examples of how beautiful a Catholic marriage is. We plan to keep the Catholic faith at the center of our relationship and be a witness to others as best we can. We look forward to teaching our children the faith someday, too. Being a military family, we may move around a couple times throughout the marriage. Hopefully we will plant some roots in a place that’s closer to family and good friends.”
Marriage resources
Marianne Agnoli, diocesan coordinator for Marriage and Family Life, says marriage preparation begins at birth. “Our diocesan focus is to support the vocation of marriage in an uninterrupted cycle, from the remote and proximate preparation that happens in our households, schools and religious education programs, through accompanying couples during their immediate preparation for marriage. We also strive to continue to provide encouragement and resources to those living out this vocation throughout all of the blessings and challenges they encounter in their life-long journey together.”
Visit the diocesan Marriage and Family Life page
(davenportdiocese.org/marriage-family) for resources.
