Thanks to her sister’s encouragement, Marisa joined CatholicMatch—and it didn’t take her long to find her match.
One week after joining, in July 2015, Marisa crossed paths with Mark. “He swooped me up!” Marisa said.
“I saw a faith-filled and fun man through Mark’s profile, so that attracted me to him. Many of his pictures showed him as very social and doing fun activities. I was excited to meet someone who was also Catholic and with whom I could raise a Catholic family with,” Marisa said.
Mark, on the other hand, had been waiting four years to meet his future wife.
Mark had signed up for the site because he wanted someone who shared his faith. He says he was drawn to Marisa because of her beautiful profile picture and how easy it was to talk with her.
God’s providential hand was at work in their relationship from the beginning. Both were just within the age limits they had set for their potential matches. Mark had said 22 was the lowest he would go—which is how old Marisa was. And Marisa had said she would go up to 30, just two years older than Mark’s current age.
“If either of us had set a different age limit, who knows when we would have met (God knew!) That’s something that we both thought was coincidental and sort of special about our relationship,” Marisa said.
Their first date was at a restaurant near Marisa’s parents’ home. “We just dove into conversation; it was probably the best first date I’ve been on. It wasn’t awkward,” Marisa said.
Their next dates included kayaking, paintballing, and going on a beer tasting on a train. “The beer tasting on the train ride date was our activity for our first Sweetest Day in October of 2015. It was thoughtful of Marisa to do this with me, as she prefers wine over beer,” Mark said.
“I felt comfortable and calm whenever I was with Mark. We had a natural connection that I hadn’t felt with others. I was always laughing at something he said or did! He has a very goofy personality and is very fun-loving. I could tell right away that he would be a fun father to our future children,” Marisa said.
Each one knew the other was the one at a Halloween party Marisa hosted in October 2015.
“I knew that Mark was the right person for me when he first told me that he loved me very shortly after we met. I felt the same way towards him,” Marisa said.
The couple also experienced hardship. Mark’s father was diagnosed with ALS, leading to his passing in the summer of 2016.
“He was such a faithful, compassionate, and Christ-like man. We supported each other through this great loss, and we feel that made us a stronger couple. We felt it made each of us stronger in our own faith journeys as well. We relied on the prayers of others and by praying together to sustain us through this difficult time,” Mark and Marisa said.
They persevered together and, on October 15, 2016, they were engaged.
That day, Marisa was scheduled to come over to his place for lunch. When she pulled into his garage, pink rose metals led to the door. Inside, Mark was preparing breakfast food and mimosas for lunch. The kitchen table had a pink tablecloth, candles, and flowers, Marisa recalls.
“When I had finished eating, he gave me a folder that said ‘Happy Sweetest Day, Marisa! I need your help filling out the rest of these forms.’ I opened the folder and found a copy of a marriage license inside with our names filled out on it.
Mark reached into the side cabinet and pulled out a ring box, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. Of course, I said yes! I will never forget that day—everything was perfect!” Marisa said.
One year later, on September 9, 2017, they were married.
Then, another tragedy struck.
Soon after their wedding, Marisa became pregnant. But, in February, they learned that their baby girl had anencephaly, a birth defect that would leave their daughter’s brain and skull underdeveloped. On June 18, she arrived stillborn. They named her Sofia Ann.
Marisa and Mark say they often think of their daughter and will “always remember her and love her.”
“I think it will continue to be a healthy driving force for faith and trust in Christ for both of us–both individually and together as a couple. I hope it will make us study Scripture more and use Scripture to carry us through other hardships that may arise in our marriage down the road,” Marisa said.
“Going through both of these challenges has definitely made both us of stronger individuals, which has contributed to a stronger and more faith-filled marriage,” she added.
