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.

Here And Now

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

I've realized sometimes we think too much about the future and what it holds. It's good to plan ahead for certain things in the short term. But most of our long term situations are out of our control. God wants us to be present where we are at this time. By thinking so much about the future we miss out on today. Dwelling on thoughts that question where we are headed in life make us doubt the Lord and what He has to offer. 

God knows the desires of your heart. He truly wants to give you all that you desire and more! But in order for His plan to transpire we must trust and surrender to His Holy Will...even if we do not yet understand it. It can be extremely difficult to give all of your fears and worries to Him, but that is where faith comes in. Faith, in itself, is complete trust. Igniting our faith in the Lord with prayer and supplication helps us to release our fears and surrender to His Will.

Every once in a while I'll catch myself thinking about why God put me in Florida, where I am today. I never chose to be here, but here I am. Don't get me wrong... I'm ssoooo thankful to be here! I love living in the Sunshine State. I love my friends, family, church, school, Disney World, beaches, and everything else about Florida. But sometimes I wonder where my future husband is. It makes me sad to think maybe he's not living close to me...and then I think maybe I would be happier living there, wherever he is. However, now I see that it doesn't matter if he's living half way across the world... I know God will bring him to me at the right time, in the right place, at the right moment, and in the right way.

Right now, apparently, I'm not suppose to be with him. Right now I'm just suppose to be living my life as myself — a Catholic college student (in Florida) that loves God, family, friends, and being an artist. You are also meant to be where you are today. The school you go to, the place you work at, the friends you meet, and the city you live in is all part of God's plan for your life. It's so easy to get caught up in "what if" scenarios. But at the end of the day, all the possibilities don't matter. What matters is right now. Just by dwelling on the future doesn't help us get there. It's what we do now with the opportunities presented to us which will produce an outcome... hopefully in accordance with God's Will if we've surrendered to Him.

All of this reminds me that a few days ago on Twitter I saw @TheSingleWoman post, "You are where you are, at the time that you are, for a reason. Don't waste it by wishing to be somewhere else." That really hit home with me. As I approach graduation I still wonder where God wants me to go. But dwelling on where I should be or shouldn't be, as I said before, won't help me get there. Just by taking it one day at a time I'm sure that I'll find out where I am suppose to go and how I will get there. Trusting in the Lord takes patience! This is why I'm currently praying a 54-day Rosary Novena for my future husband and career path. In time, God will answer me. I just have to patiently wait for His answer while continuing to be the best person I can be, which is what He calls all of us to.

As for you young ladies seeking a future spouse, I found this blog post by The Catholic Young Woman called Right Now, which I encourage you to read. It's really good! The post is filled with lots of insight on why prayer is for now and being with your future beloved is for later. I would also recommend that you pray a 54-day Rosary Novena for your future spouse. A really funny Catholic lady, Jackie Francois, prayed this novena and miraculously received her answer! Right now she is 28-years old, and even though she would have liked to have met her beloved earlier in life, this was the right moment for her. I'm so happy for Jackie and Bobby! They are an adorable couple. If you'd like to check out their blog site go to this link: http://bobbyandjackie.com/. They have a great inspirational story that gives hope to us young woman who are seeking a holy, Catholic man of God.

I truly believe God has a very special purpose for your life. Don't lose hope if you feel that you're not sure where to go. Just put all your faith and trust Him even when it is tough. I guarantee that you'll be happier and more satisfied with yourself in the end if you do than if you don't.  ...Thanks for reading my blog post! Have a wonderful day and God bless. :)

Be Still & Free Yourself From Distractions

"Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." - Psalm 46:10

Last Saturday I went on a Jesuit retreat with my sister called "Hearts on Fire." It was a wonderful experience! I learned so much about St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, and met so many wonderful people. During the retreat the priests talked about Ignatian Contemplation. This is a very reflective type of prayer that allows you to focus on God, alone, in silence, and using your imagination to do so. It is similar to meditation, because it is not a vocal prayer, but at the same time it is different because you are not necessarily thinking of prayers while you contemplate.

To begin you might start with meditating on a decade of the rosary. After the meditation, follow up with reading a scripture verse from the bible. When I did this at the retreat I contemplated on the verses Matthew 8:23-27, The Calming of the Storm at Sea. By thinking about this scene you begin to place yourself in it with the disciples on the boat. Imagining the waves of the water crashing up violently against the boat you slowly think about how the surroundings would feel like, smell like, and taste like. Then you begin to think to yourself, "Where am I in relation to Jesus? ...Am I close? Far? Am I with the other disciples?" Maybe where you picture yourself to be in the scene could be a sign of how close you are getting to God in your prayer life. Nevertheless, it is truly just learning to be still in the presence of God.

Using your imagination can be wonderful! It allows our creativity to be integrated in prayer form. Father Jim Martin, author of My Life With the Saints, explains Ignatian Contemplation very well in the video below.

However, when you are in prayer, it is important to know that your imagination is not trailing away from God in self-refection. If you find yourself distracted maybe meditate on the rosary again or just try to empty yourself of all other thoughts. Just learning to be still and free from any thought all together is another great way of contemplating. It gives God the opportunity to answer your prayers in the peace and quiet of your heart.

This brings me to my next point...distractions. We all seem to have so many distractions in our lives! From school, work, relationships, social media, music, sports, finances, politics, injuries, illnesses, ...etc. All of these things have the potential to pull us away from God if we let them. By finding more time for prayer, mediation, and contemplation we are more likely to find ourselves seeking God's Will actively in our lives. Even in C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters, he points out that the devil tries to create so much noise in the world so that we can no longer hear the voice of God.

In this video Ashley, a very well spoken young woman, offers her wisdom on "distractions" that lead us away from God. It is important to find some quiet time in your day and go to church on Sundays. Doing these small things will help increase your relationship with God in the long run. When people slowly move away from such things as prayer they become more distracted and tend to wander aimlessly without God's guidance. If you want to know what God wants from you, give God your time. He wants to talk to you too! If we can empty ourselves from this world and try to focus on Him--and Him alone--we will slowly, but surely, find His Holy Will.