NEWTON It was a warm afternoon on March 20 with clear skies over the town square in downtown Newton, where a small but spirited group of Catholics held up two long banners that helped make their faith-based message to the public loud and clear: “God’s Marriage = 1 Man + 1 Woman.” On that Saturday, these 21 faith-filled men and women drew a variety of reactions from passing motorists — from honks of approval to one disapproving gesture of “thumbs down.”
These Catholics leaned on their faith in God to serve as witnesses to traditional marriage in the center of Newton during their participation in the national 2021 Traditional Marriage Crusade. They also tapped into the power of prayer to offer intentions to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph for the protection and preservation of marriage, family, and virtue in the United States, which in some ways, seems to be in a moral free-fall. To do this, the small group leveraged the prayers of countless other Catholics from across the country, who prayed the same prayers and sang the same hymns starting at noon that day from various locations in their respective time zones.
“The rally worked out well. We must support what the Church supports, one of those things being the biblical version of marriage,” said Rich Matrisciano of Knights of Columbus Don Bosco Council 7784. He helped organize the rally, the council’s first such event for the Traditional Marriage Crusade promoted by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, which works with America Needs Fatima. “We lifted our voices in prayer along with thousands of people over the heads of politicians to the heavens. We prayed for the country and for Catholics, who don’t mind voting for abortion, same-sex marriage and gender ideology [which President Joe Biden and his Administration support] because of social justice issues,” he said.
On that busy day, the group, mainly Knights and Columbiettes, stood near a gazebo at the edge of the square in Newton, surrounded by businesses and municipal and county government buildings. Ever peaceful, they followed the official rally handbook, singing the hymn “O Sacred Heart” and praying the Angelus, rosary, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Divine Praises, and Litany to St. Joseph and singing “Immaculate Mary.” The Knights council serves three Sussex County parishes: Our Lady Queen of Peace, Branchville; Good Shepherd, Andover; and St. Joseph, Newton.
Enthusiastic in her singing and praying for traditional marriage was Joy Harrington of Good Shepherd, a widow, who was with her late husband, Thomas, for 50 years before he died in 2015. She has two children and three grandchildren.
“It was a beautiful day. The rally was wonderful. We had a simple message: marriage is one man and one woman,” said Harrington, who provided The Beacon with biblical quotes to support that position, including that “God created man and woman in his likeness and image.”
“People were responding to us. We prayed so that people who believe [in traditional marriage] would have their values reinforced and so people who don’t — that the Lord would speak to their hearts. We wanted to get the message across, especially to the young people in the cars passing by. We will never stop trying,” she said.
At the rally, Harrington said she was happy that the Vatican issued a statement on March 15, re-affirming the Church’s ban on priests blessing same-sex unions. She also reflected on the “blessing” of her married and family life. Harrington said she and Thomas were united and devoted to each other and their children. “We took them to Church to receive the Sacraments — difficult for young families today because of the way that society is going,” she said.
The rally handbook states that the intent of the event was for participating faithful “to beg God, Our Lady, and St. Joseph to protect and preserve traditional marriage in America.” The event also gave them the opportunity to proclaim that traditional marriage deserves public recognition, is good for America and the family and is between one man and one woman.
The group used the rally to pray to St. Joseph, “the spouse of the Mother of God” and the “pillar of families,” during this Year of St. Joseph in the universal Church, as well as for the fostering of healthy marriages that produce faith-filled children and for the strengthening of marriages that “are not good and do not please Our Lord.” They were also “standing up for the teachings and institutions of the Church,” the handbook states.
At press time, The Beacon was not aware of any other Traditional Marriage Crusade events that were held at any other locations in the Paterson Diocese.
Holding an end of one of the “God’s Marriage” banners on March 20 was Jerry Woodring, who helped organize the rally in Newton. A parishioner of St. Joseph’s, he also is a Don Bosco past grand knight and trustee. Widowed three times with seven children and two grandchildren, Woodring called all of his wives “Christian women, who were respectful and helpful in working with me in the Church and demonstrating” in “unions that worked well” and “built me up as a Christian.”
“The rally went well,” said Woodring, who requested the presence of a Newton Police cruiser for added safety. “Traditional marriage is important. This country is going downhill morally and needs our help with prayers. So I am here sticking my face out, being a witness as the good Lord asks us to be. I am Christian so I have hope. You never know what kind of impact you can have on people,” he said.