Marielle Ignacio DeTorres

When I turned 25, I asked God to grant me a husband.

I was single for a long time, and I’ve never had a boyfriend in high school and in college. It’s not for the lack of opportunity, but it was my own readiness. I was young, and I knew I was not ready. I didn’t know who I was yet, and I was not about to look for someone who was also not sure who they wanted to be, or more so, who they already were.

When I started working, I tried online dating. I thought that this would be my way of “putting myself out there”. For two years, I was meeting guys online who were obviously not ready for a meaningful relationship. They were not dating with the intent of marriage. They were merely floating through space, spending free time, approaching dating as a game they can win.

So I stopped. I focused on my family, my friends, my work, and my goals. I leaned into my spiritual growth, I felt called by God into something more. Something better. Something He alone could provide.

But it meant that I had to wait.

Three years later, my Opus Dei friend recommended CatholicMatch to me, saying that they had a success in one of their members who met her husband there and had two kids already. I was hesitant to try it. I figured online dating was not very fruitful when I tried it before.

So I prayed about it. And waited. And prayed.

By my 25th birthday, I asked God to grant me a husband. I told Him that I do not want to date anymore, and I do not want to play games. I surrendered my love life to Jesus. I said to Him,

“Lord, this is Yours. I will let you do Your work. I leave it up to You. If you grant it, I will be happy. If You don’t, then You are enough for me.”

I asked for a holy marriage. I prayed for my vocation as a wife and mother. I asked for St. Joseph to intercede for me to Jesus.

Two weeks later, I signed up for CatholicMatch. I purchased a six-month subscription. Two days later, I matched with my husband. He also purchased a six-month subscription. He was in the app for exactly four days. We matched with each other in the “New Members For You” section.

Suffice it to say, we got our money’s worth.

God granted our prayers in His time. And it was perfect.