The Holy Spirit Reunited Them After 10 Years

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Ten years ago, James, a Virginia native, was volunteering as a Youth Leader at a Catholic high school retreat in the Archdiocese of Richmond. Across the table from him sat Maureen, a young, pretty participant attending the event. Little did either of them know that they were each sitting across from their future spouses!

James and Maureen did not keep in touch with each other after meeting at the Diocese retreat.

“We met, we parted ways, and then 10 years later The Holy Spirit brought us back together through CatholicMatch,” James said.  

James downloaded CatholicMatch a few years ago. He wanted to meet someone with the same beliefs, so he was attracted to the site. Although he was not taking dating seriously at first, he kept the account. After about a year, he began to take dating less casually and became more active on the site.

Reunited again!

That was when Maureen messaged him. She had only been on CatholicMatch for a very short period of time at that point and was curious where it would lead her.

Ironically, it was also the last day of Christmas - the Baptism of Our Lord. When she saw his profile, she recognized his face from all those years ago and felt compelled to reach out. Her first message to him inquired if he had been at that retreat ten years ago, and the conversation took off from there.  

In order to respond to her message, James actually went out of his way to purchase a six-month membership (one he turned out to not need at all!). Within just 24 hours of that first message, James and Maureen switched their correspondence to text messages. And, despite living three and a half hours apart, they had their first date within two weeks.

Things began to fall into place after that...

For their first date, they picked up lunch and went back to her apartment to watch TV and chat. “It was very simple… it was nice to sit down at a table and have a conversation and really get to know the person I had been talking to for the past two weeks.”

“The fact that we had met before made it a little easier,” James said.  “There was never that awkward… ‘This is what I believe, what do you believe?’ We were both Catholic and shared the faith.”

After their first date, there was an instant connection. James recalled telling a few of his coworkers, the day after their first meeting, that he had met the woman he was going to marry one day. Afterward, Maureen also said that the feeling was mutual.

But, they lived far apart!

The biggest hurdle they had to overcome was the distance. Living nearly four hours apart made it difficult to be with each other as often as they would have liked. Within a year of dating, they estimate they only saw each other about 30 times over the weekends! As a couple, making the conscious effort to carve out time to see each other helped them to overcome this obstacle. But, it wasn't always easy. They had to have faith in how they felt about each other.  “We knew it was going to work after two months.”  

As fate would have it, they later found out that many of their family members lived close to each other, which made getting together a little easier.

Then, they got serious.

In early February of 2020, after about a year of dating, James suggested to Maureen that they take a trip to Washington, D.C. She is an avid fan of hockey, and her two favorite teams- The Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals- were playing in the city. 

James suggested that they should go together because he had never been to a hockey game before, but he had other intentions for that day. They arrived in the city early and James suggested that they head to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

The whole day he was nervous. He was sure that Maureen could see the ring bulging in his bag. He was worried that he might pass out or completely forget what to say. Maureen insists that he didn’t seem nervous at all, and she did not suspect a thing.

At the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, they stopped to pray. James stood behind her as she was praying and got down on one knee. He tapped her shoulder and, annoyed at being interrupted, Maureen turned around. But, when she saw the ring she began to cry.

James asked Maureen, “Baby, will you marry me?” And she said yes. She was thrilled!

The pandemic didn't stop their love!

They were married in Maureen’s hometown on October 17, 2020.  They chose not to postpone their wedding due to the pandemic because they were extremely eager to get their lives started as a married couple. James said that planning a wedding during the pandemic was extremely difficult, but completely worth it. 

“We did not want our lives put on hold because of this. You know, life goes on.”

Married life has been a joy to both of them. First of all, it is very convenient that they no longer need to commute so far to see each other. But, James also said how great it is to have a companion to attend Mass and spend time together with. He also said that it is a plus that their families mutually support them.

“Her family loves me and my family loves her. It was important to me that my family loved her, and vice versa.”  

Finding a partner with similar beliefs and values, who was dedicated to raising their children in the Catholic faith, was extremely important to both Maureen and James. This is what led both of them to join CatholicMatch and eventually meet each other. 

With the help of the Holy Spirit and online dating, they were reunited after ten years and will now spend the rest of their lives together in marriage.

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