An Unexpected Invitation

I think it's safe to say that over the years, I've tried to make my plight as a Catholic single known to many of my parish priests.  Most of them have stood there like a deer caught in the headlights because they probably couldn't identify with my struggles.  I'm sure a few of them wondered why I was pestering them because they probably felt there really wasn't anything they could do to help.  This blog has tried to make the case that it's very important for the Church and our parish clergy in particular to actively assist their hapless singles.

Related to this is one piece of advice that I've regularly seen on Catholic dating chat rooms:  Singles should make their situation known because you never know what could happen when you make meaningful connections with others.  They often use the following as an example.  “If your Church is filled with elderly parishioners, talk to them anyway because one of these old people might have a grandchild who is single, lonely and looking for a spouse too.”  If you can land a great job through networking, it might also work when it comes to finding a mate.  Of course, the odds of this happening are probably quite low.  For many years now, a few old folks at Mass have prayed for me to find a spouse to no avail.  I can tell you that none of them have introduced me to their granddaughters either.  

I suppose the success rate of this strategy is slightly below the dismal world of internet dating.  It's been said that only a small percentage of people who date online will meet their future spouse.  Some people even refer to it as “hitting the lottery.”  None of this gives me much confidence as a single and for a long while, I thought I'd never meet anyone.
 
Then after one particular Mass, one of my priests pulled me aside to talk.  He had remembered my complaints about being single and said a woman in his bible study group recently came up to him and started talking about how difficult it was to find a good Catholic man.  He added that this woman was in her early 40s and was very attractive.  Then he wanted to know if I would be interested in meeting her.  With no other prospects on the horizon I said yes.  He entered my name and number into his smart phone and said he would talk to her later on and see if she wanted to go out with me.
 
I was excited but also leery.  He didn't have a photo of this woman to show me so I'd be trusting the judgment of a priest that she was attractive.  Also, any optimism I had was tempered by the reality of the situation.  Sure, I was Catholic but I did question my faith at times and some of my hobbies could be off-putting to someone who was incredibly devout.  What where the odds that we would hit it off sight unseen?  Still, I was willing to try just about anything short of a mail order bride from the Philippines.  Having a date who lived within driving distance was a plus too given my responsibilities as a caregiver for my mother.  To his credit, my priest did say that he wasn't sure how our religious beliefs would line up but he thought a first date would be a step in the right direction.
 
So with that, he said he would get back to me about this.  I was happy someone had finally taken my complaints about being single to heart and kept my interests in mind when an opportunity presented itself.  Now I had to wait and see what would become of all this.  So many thoughts swirled around in my mind as I left the church.  Could this be how I find my future wife?  Time would tell.