"The moment I set my eyes on him, Our Lady whispered into my heart, 'he is the one I've chosen for you,'" remembers Maria, 37. "It was so clear."
It was a snowy winter's evening on December 8th, 2017, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, when Maria saw Walter approaching her and heard Mother Mary's words of affirmation. The couple had made plans for their first date to attend Mass at St Mary's, Our Lady of the Annunciation, in Rockwood, MI, and to enjoy dinner together.
Seeing Walter approach her as she stood on the outside stairs of the church, Maria thought maybe her 12-year search to find the one was finally over.
"I didn't even see his face very well to make sure I liked the way he looked because it was dark outside and the snow was coming down hard," she recalls.
Walter, whose first marriage was annulled, says that when he sat down next to Maria at their first Mass, he could feel the chemistry. "She looked beautiful,” adds the 45-year-old.
It was so much work to find the one!
Maria had subscribed to CatholicMatch intermittently for 12 years. She says it felt difficult to go through so much to find a spouse, but it was worth it because she knew God intended her for marriage.
"I had a vocation to get married—like no doubt," she says. "I knew I wasn't supposed to live as a single or join the nuns. I always felt I'd get married—ever since I was a little girl."
Maria made it her mission to find a spouse, but the search didn't come without heartache.
"I was a serial dater, unfortunately, and aggressively looking to fulfill my marriage vocation," she reveals. "It took a toll. Dating the wrong people is so emotionally taxing. I felt worn down, but I knew I had a vocation."
Dumped...
During those 12 years on CatholicMatch, she experienced two serious relationships and numerous first and second dates with members.
Not long before she met Walter, one serious, long-term boyfriend asked her to move from her home in West Michigan to Detroit. A month after she made the move, he dumped her. She had a one-year lease on her apartment, so she had to stay. Maria began to pray a Novena for Mary's help.
"I'm crying in my apartment with like no furniture after he dumped me. I'm thinking, 'Oh my gosh, what do I do?' And Mother Mary put it in my heart to go back on CatholicMatch one more time."
But, CatholicMatch did pay off!
Maria wanted to meet someone who shared the same values and faith, and CatholicMatch was one of the only places she could find someone like that. After only one week back on the site, she met her soul mate—Walter!
However, if she hadn't met Walter, who lived in Detroit, in person shortly after matching online, their relationship would have fizzled because she didn't feel impressed by their phone conversation.
"I felt like he was interrupting me," she says.
However, Walter didn't get the same impression. "I thought we had a good conversation," he says.
Even though Maria felt a little put off by their first phone conversation, she asked him if he wanted to meet soon.
"I felt so lonely in my apartment, so I asked him if he wanted to meet the next day to grab some coffee," she recalls. "He's said, "How about we meet on December 8th? In three days, we have to go to Mass anyway.' I thought maybe he was testing me to see if I'm a good Catholic."
They decided to meet at his parish, St Mary's, Our Lady of the Annunciation. When Maria got to the church, she realized that she had been to Mass at this church a couple of years ago.
"I remembered thinking I'd love to get married here," she says. "I felt something special was going to happen at that church.
Sparks flew on their first date, and Walter says, "After a good first, second, and third date, I could see us spending the rest of our lives together."
A wedding where they met!
Seven months later, Maria and Walter were engaged and three months later, she walked down the aisle at the same church where they'd first met.
They had a small intimate wedding—something Maria had desired since she was a little girl. She wanted the wedding to focus on the spiritual aspects.
"I just wanted a wedding that was sacred for God," she says.
Maria recalls that while saying her vows, she felt like she was floating.
"It felt so right, she recalls. "I remember looking at him and just being like, 'This is it.' And I felt God's presence intensely."
Where they are now...
In October of 2023, the couple celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary. They have three beautiful children under four years old. She hopes the best for CatholicMatch members and advises them to persevere even if they have experienced many failed relationships or relationships that never got off the ground.
"Don't give up. Pray, go to Adoration, and stay in a state of grace. Try and let God reveal to you who you are supposed to be with, and don't let discouraging thoughts from the devil influence you."
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