I Hear Wedding Bells ❤

Elissa Anne Photography

"When I found him whom my soul loves; I held onto him and would not let him go." 
– Song of Solomon 3:4 

At last, now the world can behold the beautifully married Catholic couple everyone's been chatting about recently, Mr. and Mrs. Robert (Bobby) Angel. How appropriate that their last name is Angel, right? These sweethearts are such a great example to other Catholics who are currently in relationships of their own or are in the midst of discerning the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. If you don't know about these two newlyweds, Jackie and Bobby, you can become accquainted with them through their blog posts at http://jackieandbobby.com/. Nevertheless, this cute couple finally took their vows of true, pure, everlasting love for each other during their wedding Mass in California on August 10, 2013.

I haven't personally met either Jackie or Bobby, but I have come to love who they are through their postings on their blog, Facebook, and Twitter sites. These two lovebirds seem to be perfect for each other! However, they were not always together. The first time I ever heard about Jackie was from a YouTube video that showed up in my Facebook newsfeed a few years ago. It was called the "Ache of Singlehood." In this video Jackie describes the ache a heart feels from being single as a single woman herself. But she notes that it is a good ache because it's ultimately our longing for a deeper relationship with God. Jackie explains that no human person can satisfy us and only God can fill that void, or that longing, deep within our hearts. And the deeper relationship we develop with Him the deeper our trust and our love will be for Him.

This trust helps us to give our heart's desires to God and wait for His holy Will to transpire in our lives. If we are called to a married life then this ache is just another confirmation that we are destined to that particular vocation. The hard part is waiting. All of us single ladies feel that it is an endless wait for our Prince Charming to sweep us off our feet. But on the contrary, look at Jackie now! She was one of those ladies too, but now she is happily married to the man of her dreams! In the end, waiting for the right guy to show up is much better than settling for the wrong one.

Although Jackie did not know her future husband was Bobby during the making of the video, shown above, you can see how much peace she had from trusting God. This type of peace comes from accepting singlehood as a gift and learning to make the best of it until Mr. Right comes along. You can see she was perfectly happy and content being a single woman even though she still had the ache for a relationship. However, she developed her relationship with God more and more everyday. She continually grew to love Him better and more perfectly than the day before. Along with that, she prayed a 54-day-rosary novena for her future husband who was actually in the seminary when she met him.

Of course every Catholic girl knows that seminarians are off limits—otherwise you are given a bad rap and are known as a "chalice chipper." So obviously she wasn't intending to befriend him as more than a friend. But it looks like God had different plans. Apparently Bobby was still discerning his call to the priesthood and was open to let God redirect his path, if need be.

After spending time together on a retreat for Theology of the Body the pair of them became inseparable. In his blog post Bobby states, "I was still technically a seminarian, but I was given such clarity and peace during this week [at the retreat] with Jackie that I knew this was the sign I had asked God for." Both Jackie and Bobby knew they had found "the one" even though they didn't vocalize it until much later. It was all about trusting in God's Will and God's timing, which they both did. They even found each other on a retreat that brought them closer to God together! How wonderful!? Jackie and Bobby have a remarkable love story. You can continue to read more about their courtship on their blog by clicking here.

Besides the two of them being the cutest Catholic couple ever, their story (which they kindly shared with us on their blog) is a story of hope for all of those who are also waiting for the right person to be united with in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. As a girl, most of us women want to meet the man of our dreams and marry him in our early or mid-twenties. But even when Jackie saw her other friends get married or become engaged she kept her faith in God that He was still saving the perfect person for her in His perfect timing. And guess what? He did! His timing was not too early and not too late, but just right. Maybe if Bobby was never in the seminary he would have never gone on that retreat or met Jackie. But since they both heeded to the Will of God they found each other under the right circumstances, in the right place, and at the right time.

Also, just as a side note, this "Catholic" world is so small that I feel very devout Catholic people are all connected somehow (besides the Eucharist in Holy Communion, lol). Apparently Bobby Angel was a seminarian from my own diocese here in Florida, the Diocese of St. Petersburg. I actually know some of his seminarian friends and Father Victor Amorose who said one of his first Masses as a priest at my home parish of St. Paul in Tampa. Father Victor attended their wedding ceremony along with my local bishop from St. Petersburg, Bishop Robert Lynch (seen in the photograph above). Bishop Lynch anointed me with the Sacrament of Confirmation many years ago and now he's blessing this couple with the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony on their wedding day! How beautiful!

So for all the single ladies, like myself, please don't give up hope on finding your Prince Charming. He is out there right now, living and breathing in this very world we live in. He will come when the time is right if you let him by trusting in God. Give God all the desires of your heart and surrender to His Will with complete trust that He will fulfill them. If you really love God and believe this I guarantee you won't be disappointed. You will only be disappointed if you don't surrender, otherwise you will have no regrets.

And who knows? Maybe you've already met your future husband or maybe you already have mutual friends with him and you just don't know it yet. Personally I believe if you are an ardent and devout Catholic you are probably less than two degrees of separation between you and your future spouse. Like I said, we truly live in a small "Catholic" world. Everyone seems to know each other! It is a beautiful thing. But as you are waiting to meet "the one" my advice is to lift up your intentions for your future beloved during Mass at Holy Communion. That way the two of you will meet every week in the flesh of God until you truly meet in the flesh—face to face.

Marriage Is A Sacrament: A Sacred Union Between One Man, One Woman, and God

"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife." – Mark 10:6-7

There is a term known as "marriage" that has been tossed around quite a bit recently by the US government and politicians. Just for some clarity let's look up the definition of the word "marriage" in the dictionary. In my book it says, and I quote, "marriage – (noun) the formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife." In other words, two persons of the opposite-sex are formally committed to one another and are united by a wedding ceremony and legally binding contract. Within this union the husband and wife are bound together by their vows of everlasting love. This gives the couple the opportunity to bring about new life into this world under the promises that they shall remain together as a family. In essence, it means the two shall become one flesh out of love for each other.

Pope Francis recently affirmed this as the church’s teaching of marriage between one man and one woman in his 82-page encyclical, originally started by Pope Benedict XVI, stating, “This union is born of their love, as a sign and presence of God’s own love, and of the acknowledge and acceptance of the goodness of sexual differentiation, whereby spouses can become one flesh and are enabled to give birth to a new life.” (Click here to read more.) As you can see, the union of marriage is meant for the purpose and intention of creating life; which in turn, creates a family.

Keep in mind, if God wanted two persons of the same gender to be united He would have only created one gender in the first place that could reproduce homosexually or asexually. But that is not the case. Instead, God created two beautiful genders of the human race that compliment one another with their bodies to produce life. Naturally, a man and a woman are meant to come together on a very intimate level for reproduction. This physical bond between husband and wife is essential for any marriage to thrive. If the marriage is not consummated then it lacks in fulfilling the wedding vows. And although true love is not always physical, the physicality of love is a big part of romance—especially within a marriage. This special type of romantic bonding is found only in the relations between a man and a woman. 

Along with that, a child raised from a traditionally married couple is also secured with a relationship between parents of both genders. It is very important for the growth, well-being, and physiological health of the child to have both a mother and a father figure to look up to. With that said, God has clearly given us the perfect example of a typical family demonstrated by His own Holy Family. The Holy Family is made up of a (male) husband, (female) wife, and child that we all know as Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Christ, respectively. Even though Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father, he was Mary’s earthly spouse and helped raise the Christ Child with Mary. As Jesus grew up within the family He learned life lessons from both of His loving parents and carried out the fruits of their love in His ministry on earth.

This is how the family unit is meant to be—a supportive and loving union containing a husband, wife, and child/children. However, satan wants to twist the holiness of marriage and change it so it no longer revolves around true love or the family. Marriage is the glue that binds families together. If we let satan break apart marriage through divorce or the dilution of a true marital union, between husband and wife, it breaks apart the family. Just as Blessed Pope John Paul II said, "As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." This is the devil's plan—to destroy marriage, in turn, destroying the family and our whole world as we know it.

That is why we must pray for our Church the sanctity of marriage to be upheld in the United States and in the rest of the world. People need to be reminded of the beauty and holiness of marriage between one man and one woman. Marriage is supposed to be a beautiful, sacred, and holy experience of two lovers joined intimately by Christ's love. Marriage is an institution, founded by God, to unite a male and female in the sanctity of their love for one another. That is why marriage is considered to be a Sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church known as Holy Matrimony. I, myself, hope to one day be married in the Catholic Church with the man I love under the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. I believe many other people want this too! In order to preserve and protect the sanctity of Matrimony we need to uphold our values as Christians and be steadfast and true to our beliefs on marriage.

Below is a passage taken from the statement of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops response to the Supreme Court's decision on DOMA on June 26, 2013:

Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation. ...The common good of all, especially our children, depends upon a society that strives to uphold the truth of marriage. 

Marriage is the only institution that brings together a man and a woman for life, providing any child who comes from their union with the secure foundation of a mother and a father. 

Our culture has taken for granted for far too long what human nature, experience, common sense, and God’s wise design all confirm: the difference between a man and a woman matters, and the difference between a mom and a dad matters. While the culture has failed in many ways to be marriage-strengthening, this is no reason to give up. Now is the time to strengthen marriage, not redefine it. 

When Jesus taught about the meaning of marriage – the lifelong, exclusive union of husband and wife – he pointed back to “the beginning” of God’s creation of the human person as male and female (see Matthew 19). In the face of the customs and laws of his time, Jesus taught an unpopular truth that everyone could understand. The truth of marriage endures, and we will continue to boldly proclaim it with confidence and charity.

A Love Worth Waiting For

"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." – Hebrews 13:4

Hello dear friends in Christ! I hope everyone has had a blessed May, Our Lady's special month. Spring is such a beautiful time of year when nature thrives among us. Every day I look out my window and see sunny skies, gorgeous flowers, fluttering butterflies, squirrels scurrying up trees, and birds chirping in the wind. It has been very nice to take some time off now that the semester is over. Now I can relax because all of the hard work is done. I have officially graduated college and earned my degree with the honors of Magna Cum Laude! It has been a whirlwind of a ride, but I have the feeling it is only just getting started. I am ready to embrace a new adventure and to see where God takes me in this amazing world of His.

As I begin to embark on a new phase in life I recall my high school days at the Academy of the Holy Names, an all-girls Catholic high school, where we talked about vocations in religion class. What is a vocation anyways? Well, I can tell you one thing—it's not just a job or a profession, but rather a lifestyle. A vocation is a summons or strong inclination to a particular call by God. This divine calling puts us in the right place to serve God and His Kingdom as best as we can on earth...but only if one adheres to it. If we ignore God's calling to our true vocation we will end up missing out on the best plan He has for us!

Although I feel very strongly that God has called me to graduate school in attending the University of St. Thomas, I know that is not my vocation. That specific calling is more in line with my profession. My vocation will be how I choose to live my life in accordance with God's calling to a particular lifestyle. Maybe going to St. Thomas will help fulfill my vocational calling in leading me in the right direction.

Since I am very active within the Catholic Church many people have asked me if I'd like to become a nun. However, I personally feel called to a married life instead. Even so, religious life is another beautiful vocation! I admire those who choose to love God in this way. It is a great sacrifice. But many people will also tell you that marriage is just as big of a sacrifice, in a different way.

Both vocational callings, married and religious, are different—yet similar. Being a religious, priest, deacon, nun, brother, sister, monk, etc., has the call to love God within the church and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. A priestly vocation, anointed by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, also includes the love of his congregation and clergymen. This is another way to love God, through other people. It is such a beautiful way to love...which is also shown significantly in the Sacrament of Matrimony. In marriage the couple loves one another and commits to this love with their vows, honoring God and each other. In doing so, they love Jesus in a formally committed way because Christ resides in every person. If the couple is blessed with children that committed love extends to their offspring. This is very similar to how love is extended to the congregation of the church in the priesthood.

However the lifestyle may be, love is always the center of the calling. Love is God and God is love! Christ's love is deeply rooted in each of these vocations. ...Although I have yet to mention the calling of a single life. The single life is another type of vocation, but I feel that it is a rare one. Maybe not, but I haven't met that many people called to a single life. Most of my single friends are like myself, waiting for that right person to love in a married life. However, single life is definitely another option for a vocational calling. Some choose to commit their virginity to God during their entire life on earth, like St. Philomena. Others may have been married once, but were widowed, like St. Rita of Cascia.

I like that St. Rita actually lived all three vocations. As a young woman she was married and had children, embracing the calling of marriage. Later, her husband and children died from a terrible disease. As a widow she lived a single life for a while. Then she became a nun in her older age and died peacefully in the religious life. Although she had many hardships, how beautiful it is for her to have lived all of these different vocational callings? She is a great example to anyone who desires to love God with their life and vocation!

I remember feeling called to my vocation a long time ago. When I was given the Sacrament of Confirmation, during my sophomore year of high school, the bishop blessed me with holy oil. During his blessing he looked at my name tag and saw I was taking the name of St. Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus. It was then that he said how I would one day be a great mother, just like St. Anne. It dawned on me that I truly do feel the call to marry and have children. I would love to be a mother someday! However, this call to love must come with patience. Before I can be a great mother I have to wait for the great man God has planned for me to be with. You have probably heard the phrase, "all good things come to those who wait." This calling to love is a love worth waiting for! Waiting for love doesn't only happen within marriage, but also in religious life. A man entering the priesthood must wait years and years before he is ordained with Holy Orders.

This reminds me of the first description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Saint Paul writes, "Love is patient."  Just think about...he could have put love is patient much farther down on the list of his description. However, he writes it as the first account of love. Without waiting, without having patience, love cannot truly exist. Think about how Christ waited three hours on the cross in indescribable agony just to die for us! It was a big sacrifice but He did it out of true love. ...So like I said before, it may take years to finally live out a personal vocation, but it is totally worth it because your vocation is a love worth waiting for.

Below are two of my favorite songs about love that I wanted to share with you. The first is called "Hide Your Love Away" by the Anthem Lights. This is an amazing single about waiting for marriage! My friend Rachel had shared it with me on Facebook a little while ago and I can't thank her enough for that. The other is called "Plan on Forever" by Dana Glover and Mervyn Warren. I first heard this song on the movie called The Wedding Planner and fell in love with it! I hope these tunes will touch your heart the same way they touched mine. God truly loves you and He wants you to find your happily ever after, according to His own good plan and His own good time. Amen!

            

Be Satisfied With Me

"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." – Psalm 63:3

Happy St. Valentine's Day!!! ❤ Today is the feast day of a wonderful saint who was a priest and martyr for the faith. St. Valentine is the patron saint of love, couples, young people and happy marriages. For many many years now, people have been exchanging Valentine cards to express their love and affection for one another. This goes back to a legend of St. Valentine. While he was in jail, on the eve of his death, he wrote a farewell note to the jailer's daughter and signed it "From your Valentine."

Although this day is meant to commemorate a great saint, it has become commercialized to the extreme.  Around the end of January you can't go into a store without seeing hearts, balloons, and dazzling cards with red and pink sparkles. However, these materialistic goods can be used as a kind gesture from the heart if given in moderation and for sentimental value. I personally love giving and receiving Valentine cards or eating Valentine cookies with friends and family. It's a time to show how much you truly care about those you love and hold close to your heart.

If you have a spouse or a special someone to share the day with it can be a lot more enjoyable! Maybe the two of you have a date planned for the evening or an outing with a group of friends. If you're a Catholic couple, maybe you'll spend it in Adoration with Jesus. Or maybe you'll stay at home and watch a fun and uplifting romantic comedy together. Whatever it may be, it is always nice to be with the one you love.

That being said, I do feel for all of the single folks out there. Not having a Valentine on Valentine's Day can be tough; especially when you see lots of other couples walking around, holding hands, and staring into each other's eyes. Everybody wants to be loved—and it's okay to feel this way. But it's not okay to dwell on it so much that it brings your spirits down. Remember, moping is not hoping.

One of my friends that I talked to last night emailed me a beautiful prayer today. It is a prayer written by St. Anthony of Padua and it's perfect for singles on Valentine's Day. After reflecting on this prayer, Be Satisfied with Me, I feel as though Jesus is asking for our trust and complete surrender as Catholic singles in waiting. He wants us to fall totally and completely in love with Him first before we meet the right "one." Although I know my greatest love is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, there is a certain plan He has for me that only He knows. He has a plan for all of us! What we need to do is pour out our love for Jesus and then things will just fall into place according to His great plan. The more we plan on our own the more we could possibly be getting in the way of His bigger and better plan for us.

So whether you are single, married, divorced, or widowed let us give all of our fears to Jesus and have Him enlighten us with His hope and love. Let us be satisfied with Him and know that all things happen in His own good time.

Notre Dame Basilica Wedding

Be Satisfied With Me by St. Anthony of Padua

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But to a Christian, God says, "No, not until you are satisfied,
Fulfilled and content with being loved by Me alone,
With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me.
With having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone.

Discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found,
Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship,
That I have planned for you.
You will never be united to another
Until you are united with Me.
Exclusive of anyone or anything else.
Exclusive of any other desires or longings.
I want you to stop planning, to stop wishing, and allow Me to give you
The most thrilling plan existing... one you cannot imagine.
I want you to have the best.
Please allow Me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things.
Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am.
Keep listening and learning the things that I tell you.
Just wait, that's all. Don't be anxious, don't worry.
Don't look around at things other have gotten
Or that I have given them
Don't look around at the things you think you want,
Just keep looking off and away up to Me,
Or you'll miss what I want to show you.
And then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love
Far more wonderful than you could dream of.

You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready,
I am working even at this moment
To have both of you ready at the same time.
Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me."