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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2010 /  Prayer of her heart was meeting a lifetime Valentine

by Mary Buckley special to The Michigan Catholic
Published February 12, 2010

Editor's note: Lent is a time we are called to conversion, to draw closer to God and deeper into His love. During these six weeks especially, we ask you to share your story.

When we prayed at the church that celebrates the wedding feast of Cana, I lit a candle for my future spouse and according to my journal prayed that he "be given all the virtues necessary to enter eternal life and to be a good spouse to our family," Mary Buckley writes.

In May of 2009, I traveled to the Holy Land with Terra Sancta Pilgrimages led by my spiritual director Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM. Turning 29 soon and single for many years, I decided I would make my prayer intention about my vocation. I have always felt confident that God had marriage planned for me but I wondered whether or not I would meet a man who I would be able to accomplish my goals of faith and family with. At each of the holy sites, I lifted my future spouse up in prayer. As we went to the site of the Nativity, I had a Mass up for the future of families and for my vocation. When we prayed at the church that celebrates the wedding feast of Cana, I lit a candle for my future spouse and according to my journal prayed that he "be given all the virtues necessary to enter eternal life and to be a good spouse to our family." No one knew about my prayers except for a close friend. Then, one night during dinner, an amazing thing happened. This is the story as written in my journal on April 28, 2009:

"At dinner today, a Franciscan priest, Fr. Anthony, noticed my Franciscan University sweatshirt. He came up to me and asked me if I went to school there … we chit-chatted for a few more moments and then the weird thing happened. He randomly asked if I was married. I said, my general response, 'Nope, still looking for Mr. Right.' Then, as he was walking away he said, 'God always answers prayers that are said in the Holy Land.' I didn't tell him I was praying about it and that not finding my spouse was a heartbreak of mine — and that was the last thing he said before he walked away. Oh my gosh huh?!? Pretty spectacular."

A month after returning home from the Holy Land, I began dating a wonderful man named Aaron. We come from different backgrounds and life experiences. Aaron is an African-American who was raised in Detroit and became Catholic two months before we began dating. I am an Irish/Polish "cradle-Catholic" from the suburbs. We are both convinced that we had to come together at the perfect time for the success of our relationship. Aaron once described our dating as "arranged." Arranged by God for the purpose of something greater. On Dec. 5, 2009, in the Eucharistic chapel of Holy Trinity Church in Frankenmuth, Aaron asked me what I had been waiting my whole adult life to hear, "Can I keep you?" In front of the most important person to us, Jesus, Aaron asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. When we turned to face the tabernacle and pray, I did not have words to describe the thankfulness I felt in my heart. It was a moment of happiness, when words would take away from the feelings in our hearts. The next day, I remembered my prayer in the Holy Land and I remembered what that priest said, "God always answers prayers that are said in the Holy Land."

I so look forward to spending the rest of my life here on Earth with the man that God intended for me. And I will forever be grateful for the chance to take a quiet journey with God and ask Him with a pure heart to bring me my spouse!

Our wedding day is set for June 12 and we will be continuing to grow in our relationship with God and each other as we journey forward together.

Mary Buckley is the coordinator of youth ministry at St. John Neumann, Canton.