I Lost My Job, Her Subscription Expired, And We Lived 300 Miles Apart

When Jenny’s annulment was finalized, she wasn’t planning on remarrying.

“I had talked to my pastor about my marriage. He said, ‘You’re warranted to get a divorce, and as soon as it’s done, you should get an annulment.’

"A legal divorce wasn’t going to be enough for me, I needed the Catholic Church to recognize that my marriage never happened in the first place. At that time, if I had never found somebody else that would’ve been OK, but I needed the annulment for my own peace of mind,” Jenny, 45, said.

Her previo

us marriage of 21 years was not based on the foundation of Faith. She vowed that when she looked for a new love, that the relationship would have God at the center of it. She refused to settle for anything less.

He'd never lost a job before

In May of 2014, Mike was laid off while living in Dallas. “Losing my job was a serious kick in the gut. I knew I needed to change how I perceived life,” he recalled.

He was 50 years old and had never lost a job before. It was one of the most difficult things he ever experienced. He had been hoping to find a spouse on CatholicMatch, but how was he supposed to find someone while unemployed? He was at a loss and confused.

The following month, Mike surrendered to God’s will. “Lord if you are intending me to be single for the rest of my life, then so be it,” Mike prayed. Trusting God's purpose for his life, he pleaded with several saints and the Blessed Mother for a job and spouse. He also prayed a novena to St. Raphael, not realizing that Jenny, nearly 300 miles away in Houston, was also praying to St. Raphael.

“If there is a godly man meant for me, please send him to me,” she asked the patron saint of singles and of CatholicMatch.

But long distance never works...

A month later, Mike got a message that Jenny had looked at his profile, but he decided to not do anything about it! From past experience, he was certain that a long distance relationship could not work. However, it needled at him, and a week later, he caved.

He sent her a message: “Hey, what’s a good looking gal like you doing in Houston?” Her subscription had expired, so she had to renew to answer him!

After 10 weeks of getting to know each other, Mike finally drove from Dallas to Houston so they could see each other in person over Labor Day weekend. They arranged to meet in front of the Blessed Sacrament at a church nearby to Jenny’s home.

Jenny quietly walked into the chapel. Mike was already there, kneeling in prayer. She crept up to him and carefully knelt next to him. They prayed in silence for 20 minutes. As they left the chapel, the church bells began to ring, as if telling the world that something special was happening.

Rosaries and angels everywhere

They went to Jenny’s home, where Mike met her two teenage daughters. “He was very brave and was thrown into the middle of all our activities right away,” Jenny said, remembering how both her teens had sporting events that night. Then they escaped to Galveston together, about an hour away.

They whiled away time by the ocean as they enjoyed being face-to-face after so many weeks of texts and phone calls. They both felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as they fell more in love, and going to Mass drew them even closer together. They parted that weekend knowing that they wanted more of each other.

Over the following months, they met each other’s mothers. Although Mike’s mother was in Canada, and Jenny’s mother was in Louisiana, they both shared a French heritage. They loved how similar the Acadian and Cajun influences on the home life were.

Mike remembered, “I walked into her mom’s place, and I felt like I was back home in my mom’s place—there were rosaries and angels everywhere.” The connectio

n between their heritages helped confirm that they were truly meant to be together.

He asked her daughters' permission

They devoted time with each other daily on the phone, talking and praying. About a year after meeting one another, a consulting job opened up which allowed Mike to move to Houston. It was a relief to finally be physically closer.

Now that he was in Houston, Mike decided it was time to propose. He asked Jenny’s daughters for permission to marry their mother. Thrilled that they said yes, he began making his plans, including hiring a jeweler to craft a special engagement ring he had seen while on a business trip to China. He kept everything a secret.

Peridot and St. Patrick

He took her back to Galveston, where they spent their first

weekend together. He gave her a green rosary before Mass at St. Patrick’s Church, the same church where they first shared Mass. He chose it to represent his birthstone of peridot, not realizing that it was a St. Patrick’s Rosary.

When she opened the box and they both saw the uncanny significance of the rosary, they knew Heaven was affirming their love for each other, again.

After Mass, Mike asked Jenny to pray with him in front of the statues of St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother. Jenny didn’t find this at all unusual, and she had no inkling of what was about to happen. He knelt down, pulled out the ring box, and they were both moved to tears.

“Will you spend the rest of your life with me? I want you to be my wife,” Mike said, with all his heart. She said yes, and he put the ring on. After embracing, they pr

ayed for the blessing of St. Mary and St. Joseph.

Jenny and Mike were married in April of 2016. The couple was overjoyed by the outpouring of love for them by family and friends.

They said they recommend CatholicMatch to everyone searching for a spouse who loves the Church and has priorities built on Faith. In remembering all the events that led up to their wedding, Jenny said simply, “It was Heaven sent.”