Most of the time when a couple meets on CatholicMatch, it’s someone they’ve never known before, often from a location that’s, at the very least, outside their customary geographic circle. That wasn’t the case for Daniel and Sarah. They realized the other had been right under their nose the entire time.
Sarah and Daniel were both prodded to join CatholicMatch by their mothers, and Sarah’s mother was always on the alert for potential prospects for her daughter. In fact, several years prior, she gave numerous good references to a young man she saw at Stations of the Cross.
When Sarah finally joined CatholicMatch, Daniel found her as a new member. The fact that she loved the outdoors and was from his same small town in New York was exciting. He didn’t hesitate to send her a message.
Sarah checked out Daniel’s profile and realized that he was the very man her mother had been recommending all these years. She also recognized him as the younger brother of her former classmates. As time went on, the priest in the local parish would be amazed to learn that they had completed all the sacraments in the same church, were only a few years apart, and never knew each other.
Once they connected on CatholicMatch, they got together a week later to go whitewater rafting. When Daniel arrived on her front porch, Sarah, not one who believes in love at first sight, had a strong conviction that he was looking at her future husband. Daniel knew quickly that he was looking at a good prospective wife. Something special was in the air, and for this day, on the water.
Daniel was working as a consultant, requiring frequent travel and a month after meeting Sarah, he took a job at the power plant where their fathers had worked prior to retirement. Daniel and Sarah were able to spend more time together, and their respective families were each thrilled about what was transpiring.
Throughout the courtship, Daniel’s faith and actions confirmed Sarah’s initial conviction that this was destined for the altar. One moment that stands out for her are Rosary devotions in the month of October. While she used a prayer book to recite the Hail Holy Queen, he knew it by heart.
Daniel and Sarah were hiking in the Adirondacks almost one year after they’d first met. It was here that Daniel proposed marriage and Sarah accepted, to the delight of their family and friends.
The wedding ceremony emphasized their Polish heritage, but as the planning took place, the couple was hit with something no one can truly prepare for—Sarah’s father died suddenly, just three and a half months before he was to give his daughter away. His passing came on Divine Mercy Sunday, a devotion started by the Polish saint, St. Faustina Kowalska.
Since Sarah’s father went to God on such a special day, it allowed for comfort and trusting in His plan, but it didn’t make the months ahead any less bittersweet. They took solace in the fact that Sarah’s father had been able to come and know and love the man who would marry his daughter.
The homily at their wedding Mass emphasized that since Daniel and Sarah had faced heartbreak together early, it would bind them and serve as a solid foundation in the years to come.
It also resulted in a change of plans on their post-wedding itinerary. After the reception, Daniel and Sarah took her bouquet to her father’s grave. When they returned to their new home, they danced to one last polka—something her father would have loved—and then Daniel had one more surprise—he memorized the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for them to pray together.
A shared faith, shared heritage and shared commitment brought Daniel and Sarah through a lot together and they move forward in life with a deep belief that God indeed answers prayer.
