St. Joseph Helped Them Find Each Other

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It was May the 26th, and Audrey was nervous.

She was about to meet a man whom she had met on the internet only a couple weeks before, and with whom she’d only spoken with twice on the phone. What’s more, the plan was for them to make a full weekend out of it.

“I was really nervous because we hadn't talked that much before we met,” Audrey, 30, recalled. “What if we just really didn't hit it off in person? But I also had this strange excitement that was unlike anything I had felt before a date before.”

Image of couple in crowd, smiling at camera
First date

She had only been on the site for less than a month.

She had had several long-term relationships in the past, but they hadn’t amounted to anything and she wasn’t finding anyone in her own social circles. Her mother suggested she try CatholicMatch, but Audrey balked at the idea of joining the ranks of “losers” who were so desperate that they would use a dating site.

But her dates were growing no more numerous, nor successful, and, to top it off, she was beginning to feel a “tug” in her heart that God wanted her to give the 'losers' club a try.

So, after receiving yet another prod from a friend, she gave in.

Audrey joined the site on May 1st, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. The day she joined, she began a novena to St. Joseph for his help in finding her a spouse. On the final day of the novena, she spoke to Jim (also 30) on the phone for the first time.

He had been on and off the site himself for several years, and was immediately drawn to Audrey’s “radiant smile and beauty, her passion for art, literature and theater, and her devotion to Jesus and Mary.” He wasted no time; after only a few days of chatting online, he asked for her number, and after only two phone calls he asked to meet. Thus leading to Audrey’s nervousness and fervent prayer as she waited for the weekend to begin.

Image of couple smiling and hugging on boat

At the time, Jim lived in San Antonio and Audrey in Dallas, which are about five hours apart. He arrived in time for Friday night pizza and a U2 concert. Her anxiety turned out to be needless; they felt an extraordinary level of comfort with each other, despite the relatively little amount of contact they had had. They both agreed later that it felt as if they already knew each other.

When Audrey got home that night, she wrote in her journal that she had a funny feeling she had just met the man she would marry. There would be no more 'losers' talk after this!

Shortly after this successful weekend, Audrey made her own trip to San Antonio, beginning a pattern of back-and-forth visits that lasted most of the summer.

“I knew from our very first interaction that Audrey was special,” Jim said. “It felt like something had opened up in me and there was a new horizon with room for love to grow.”

Come August, however, this tale of two cities came to an end. You see, Audrey was working as an actress for a Catholic theater company and was about to go on tour. This meant an erratic schedule, late nights, and different states every couple weeks.

Yet between August and December, they somehow managed to talk almost every night. Sometimes Jim would travel out to see one of her shows, and come Christmas time Audrey even made it up to Chicago for a visit with Jim’s family.

Image of couple in black and white on wedding day

But Audrey had early on came to the conclusion that she couldn’t maintain life as a travelling actress and really commit to Jim at the same time.

In the new year she decided to give up touring and moved to San Antonio, after which the relationship progressed rapidly.

Come another May 1st and Jim suggested another novena to thank St. Joseph for his help and to ask for guidance regarding the next step. They finished the Novena on May 9th, and as soon as they were done, Jim dropped to one knee in the Adoration chapel and proposed with his great-grandmother’s ring.

“The most amazing thing was the immense joy we felt,” Audrey said, recalling their wedding day. “It wasn’t just happiness – it was asupernatural joy, an incredible mountaintop experience from God. I’ve never felt that overwhelmed with gladness.”

After several months of marriage (they were we on January 12th,2019), they report that the transition has been relatively smooth, apart from a few medical issues and learning the ins and outs of good communication. And the best part?

“At the end of the day, perhaps the best part of marriage is knowing oneself to be loved, faults and all.”

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