Mike and Denise
Denise has had an on-again, off-again relationship with Catholic dating sites for several years. She had encountered a few scammers in her day and was wary but trusting in our Lord's providence. She decided to try it again and sent smiles at profiles that caught her interest. Most of the time, the men she smiled at didn't respond, but she specifically smiled at Mike with great hope in her heart.
Mike, for his part, had been married for 44 years to Mary Teresa who passed away in 2021. After grieving her loss, he took a sightseeing tour of the places he grew up and where he spent most of his life. After that excursion, he returned to an empty, depressing house and decided to try some of the dating sites Denise had been on, and encountered a few scammers there as well.
After reading Denise's profile, seeing that she was somewhere in Massachusetts only 57 miles away, Mike hoped that Denise was a non-scammer and he "smiled" back. And he waited, and he waited, hoping she would introduce herself. He waited two full days and decided it was perhaps too late to introduce himself, but he did. Mike wanted to send a simple, brief message, but it was far from short. He later found out that she considered this message his near autobiography! Hours passed, and he finally received an email stating he had a message in the dating app. Now, Denise will disagree with Mike, but her message was also quite long!
They messaged back and forth, asking each other questions and giving answers. They quickly went from messaging within the dating app, to video chatting, to exchanging email addresses, and then their first in-person visit. Mike got lost in Chicopee, but that was because of poor highway signage. A first date led to a second date led to a...
They fell in love with each other! Mike bought a house two cities west of where she lived, which was dubbed Mike's "castle". Denise wanted it to be within thirty minutes of her mother's house (it's about twenty minutes), and with the community hospital between the two residences. After a rosary cenacle remembering Our Lady of Fatima's Miracle of the Sun and a light lunch at a friend's home, Mike popped the question on Friday the 13th in front of her mother and a few of their friends.
Mike mentioned that he wanted to wed Denise before the end of the year, and it was off to the races planning a wedding in less than two and a half months. First, meeting with their pastor, who told them they could get married any time because the last wedding of the year had just been celebrated. Then, signing up for the last in-person Pre-Cana class in the diocese. Finally, find a venue for the reception (which amazingly had their desired date available). The rest of the details fell into place with the couple letting go of what was less important and holding onto what they thought was more important, as both focused more on their marriage than just the wedding day. With God's amazing assistance, it all came together for a beautiful faith-filled expression of their love.
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