When Aaron signed up for CatholicMatch, he let go of all expectations. “I figured I’d cast out a line but not worry about it too much,” he recalled. “I abandoned expectations and just wanted to see what might come of it.”
Once he gave it over to God, It didn’t take long for something remarkable to happen: he was matched by the website’s algorithm with Catherine. Drawn to her radiant smile and joyful photos, Aaron reached out. The two began talking regularly, and within the month, they decided to meet in person.
A first date that lasted for hours and hours...
Their first date—a simple cup of coffee—quickly turned into a three-hour conversation. “I was astonished at how easy the conversation flowed,” Aaron said. “It never felt forced.”
Though he didn’t admit it until much later, Aaron remembers sensing something profound that day. “This voice in me said, ‘This is the one you’re going to marry.’ I dismissed it at the time and let the relationship come naturally, but it stuck with me.”
Over the next several dates, that connection deepened.
Catherine’s thoughtfulness and unique personality came through—Aaron still smiles remembering the moment she launched into an enthusiastic tangent about The Lord of the Rings on their second date.
One evening early on, they met for a holy hour in an adoration chapel before heading out to dinner. “That gave me a deeper sense of intimacy with Catherine in the Lord,” Aaron said. “It rooted our relationship in prayer from the beginning.”
They started a faith-centered relationship.
Both Aaron and Catherine came into the relationship with a serious commitment to their Catholic faith. For Aaron, a recent season of discernment had shaped him profoundly. After spending time preparing for religious life—and briefly living it—he emerged with a firmer awareness of God’s fatherly love.
“That experience helped me see more clearly what kind of husband I wanted to be,” he said. “And in turn, it showed me the kind of woman I wanted to marry—someone like Catherine.”
Faith remained central as their relationship grew. When they realized they were discerning marriage, they consecrated the process to St. John Paul II the Great and prayed a novena to him for guidance. They also completed the Theology of the Body Institute’s “Next Step” pre-engagement program, which gave them tools for conversation and discernment.
The proposal took place on Divine Mercy Sunday!
Aaron had been carrying the ring and planning to propose during an upcoming visit to Catherine’s family in Indiana. But on Divine Mercy Sunday, while at Mass, something stirred in his heart.
“The Lord laid it on my heart to just go ahead and do it that day,” Aaron said. “There was no reason to wait anymore. We had finished a lot of discernment as a couple, and we were ready.”
Later that day, after visiting the coffee shop where they had shared their very first date, the couple returned to Catherine’s apartment. There, in a quiet, intimate setting, Aaron got down on one knee.
The choice of Divine Mercy Sunday was providential. Aaron had previously discerned with the Marian Fathers, who are entrusted with promoting the Divine Mercy devotion. And St. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy, is his patron saint. “It couldn’t have been more fitting,” he reflected.
Now looking ahead...
Now engaged, Aaron and Catherine are excited to begin building their family life together. They look forward to celebrating feast days, baptismal and confirmation anniversaries, and establishing meaningful holiday traditions like attending Midnight Mass at Christmas.
Catherine dreams of creating a “life-giving home” where God’s peace is evident and visitors always feel welcome. They hope to grow their family and eventually homeschool their children to fully embrace their role as primary educators in the faith.
Their advice for other singles on CatholicMatch...
Looking back, the couple credits CatholicMatch with providing the space to encounter someone equally committed to living the faith.
“You have to work on becoming the kind of person that someone you’d want as a spouse would be attracted to,” they said. “Then commend it to God, take everything with good humor, and see what He can do.”
