When Military Duty Divided Them, The Divine Mercy Chaplet United Them

Serving in the California Army National Guard, Kip, a 54-year-old widower, was on CatholicMatch for a couple of weeks when he was drawn to Catalina’s profile.

“She was incredibly beautiful.”

Her youthful beauty captivated Kip, who thought she must be younger than what she stated (51 years young!) on her account. Catalina’s profile spoke of a woman living her Faith, with an active prayer life, and a love of the Traditional Latin Mass.

“Our sense of sight is usually what sparks an initial interest or attraction to a potential mate,” Catalina recalls.

In Kip’s profile, she saw an "incredibly handsome" man whose profile touched on every important aspect of life from his Faith, to his profession, to his family. “Kip sounded stable and open, and I was curious to learn more.”

Kip sent a “like” to Catalina and she in turn liked his profile.

At that point, Kip was encouraged to send some messages to her.

He recalls thinking, “She is so beautiful. I’m probably 5th to 7th on her list of men reaching out to her via CatholicMatch.”

After not hearing from Catalina for a week, Kip assumed she was not interested.

Meanwhile, Catalina had decided that before she would respond to anyone, she would pray.

Half-way through a novena, Catalina began to worry that Kip would think that she wasn’t interested so she decided to reach out.

While riding in the passenger seat on the scenic California Grapevine, Kip received his first message from Catalina.

They began exchanging messages! Kip was ready to get to know Catalina so he offered his phone number and expressed his willingness to meet her right away. They were separated by 40 miles and were living in different parts of Los Angeles.

It was 10 days before Christmas and Kip wanted to make the most of his end-of-the-year vacation time. His job in the Army National Guard required frequent road trips and in six months he would be stationed in Kuwait for a year. 

So, Kip was eager to act!

However, Catalina was more cautious...

She was a single mother with an adult child.

“I wanted to do things differently this time. I wanted to ask God’s guidance to find love, if it is what He willed.” Kip was willing to be patient. He recalls, “If she wasn’t ready, that was perfectly okay. I knew God is wonderful and works things out.”

On Christmas Day 2022, they talked on the phone for the first time. They began their conversation praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet (DMC), a tradition they have kept every day except for three days when circumstances did not allow. They are currently praying the chaplet in Spanish honoring Catalina’s heritage.

On New Year’s Day, they met before Mass at St. Vitus Church in San Fernando.

It was Kip’s first Traditional Latin Mass, and he fell in love with it. Kip fondly remembers their first date after Mass. “We took a walk on Venice Beach and the wind was at 80 knots. It was like standing in a sandblaster. I had the most beautiful woman with a smile on her face and sand in her teeth.”  

Kip recalls, “ I knew early on that Catalina was someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

Catalina appreciated Kip’s honesty about his upcoming year-long military deployment, and she trusted God to work out the details. They dated for 6 months before Kip left California to fulfill his military duty.

When Kip was deployed to Kuwait in June 2023, the couple stayed close by arranging daily phone and video calls despite being separated by an 11-hour time zone difference.

Among their cherished memories is a military ball which they attended together.

Catalina recalls,  “I felt like Cinderella. Kip was incredibly handsome in his uniform.” The ball happened to be on Catalina’s birthday, in January 2023. During their car ride, Catalina opened birthday gifts from Kip. She opened the first gift, a rosary bracelet. 

At that moment, she remembered her long-held prayer that if God sent the right man into her life, He would send a rosary as a sign. Doubts immediately followed but Catalina went on to open the second gift, which was another rosary, a necklace.

She understood this as “Our Lady, Queen of Peace, knows me and is with me not only through prayer but actually confirming that God wants me to continue to get to know this man.”  

During a conference Kip attended while active with the Army, the couple was able to spend Catalina’s birthday together in 2024. They visited the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis, Mo. Inside the Basilica, in a side chapel, they prayed their DMC in front of a Tabernacle with the Holy Eucharist present, at the end of their prayers, Kip got down on one knee and proposed.

Catalina joyfully accepted!

They set the date of June 25, 2024, to celebrate the sacrament of marriage on the celebration day of Our Lady of Medjugorje, Queen of Peace.