Mismatched Matchmaker by Marian Casillas, Ed.D
Mismatched Matchmaker by Marian Casillas, Ed.D
Julieta smilingly approaches a young man and boldly introduces herself, “Hello, my name is Julieta and I was wondering, do you have a girlfriend?”
José looks at her curiously, “No, but if you’re interested?”
Julieta shakes her head, “I’m not asking for myself, I already have a boyfriend. I’m asking for my sister.”
José responds, “If she’s as beautiful as you, sure I’m available.”
Julieta: All my sisters are beautiful.
She continues confidently confiding, “I’m the matchmaker in the family. I’ve been playing matchmaker practically all my life. When I was a little girl I would pair up the stuffed animals toys, dress them up in formal wedding attire, and have them marry each other in an elaborate and elegant wedding ceremony. In classes I was always looking at the students and matching them up in my mind as couples. I’d do the same at bus, train, and airport terminals. That’s how I’d spent my time. While watching romantic movies I was always re-writing the scripts, imagining the scenes differently, and bringing actors together who had chemistry, that mysterious X factor, that spark.”
José looks at her astonished.
Julieta: Well I think you would make a perfect match with my sister Catalina. My other sisters are Blanca, Beatrice, Cordelia, Rosalinda, and Viola. My father is a Shakespearean scholar and he named all his daughters after female characters in Shakespeares’ plays.
José: Julieta from Romeo and Juliet.
Catalina and Blanca from The Taming of the Shrew.
Beatrice from Much Ado about Nothing.
Cordelia from King Lear.
Rosalinda from As You Like It.
Viola fromTwelfth Night.
Julieta is utterly amazed that he would know all that and she says, “My father and you would get along great!”
After revealing about her family, she finally asks, “What’s your name?”
He takes her hand, kisses it, and charmingly declares, “José De La Paz at your service, my lady.”
Julieta is befuddled by this gesture.
Then she continues, “Here’s the plan. First I vet you for nine (9) days in different venues, while we all pray the nine (9) day Novena to Saint Joseph for a Spouse.
José: Who will be praying the Novena?
Julieta: You, me, my mother, and all my sisters.
She looks at the Novena Prayer on her phone and reads it out loud:
“Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request, Here you can say something like ‘Help me find a good spouse.’)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
Amen.”
Each day we ask Saint Joseph’s intercession under a different title:
Day 1: (Saint Joseph, Most Just, Pray for Us)
Day 2: (Saint Joseph, Most Prudent, Pray for Us)
Day 3: (Saint Joseph, Most Loving Husband, Pray for Us)
Day 4: (Saint Joseph, Most Strong, Pray for Us)
Day 5: (Saint Joseph, Most Obedient, Pray for Us)
Day 6: (Saint Joseph, Most Faithful, Pray for Us)
Day 7: (Saint Joseph, Pillar of Families, Pray for Us)
Day 8: (Saint Joseph as a Patron Saint of a Happy Death, Pray for Us)
Day 9: (Saint Joseph under the title, Saint Joseph, Terror of Demons, Pray for Us)
I’ll send you all this information.
On Day 1 we’ll volunteer at a food pantry or soup kitchen
On Day 2 we’ll watch a faith-based film and discuss it
On Day 3 we’ll clean up a stretch of the highway
On Day 4 we’ll go to evening Mass and then watch the sunset and the stars at night
On Day 5 we’ll spend time with the elderly at a nursing home
On Day 6 we’ll visit Our Eucharistic Lord in Adoration
On Day 7 we’ll visit a shrine or a monastery
On Day 8 we’ll visit a grotto or outdoor Stations of the Cross
On Day 9 we’ll take a walk while praying the Rosary
José: Shouldn’t I be doing all those things with Catalina?
Julieta: But first I have to make sure you two are compatible.And then you get to meet Catalina.
José adds, “And she’ll get to meet me.”
Julieta and Romeo met in Sixth (6th) Grade.
The teacher Mrs. Valentina was taking role call and Julieta was all eyes and ears. She called out the name Romeo Montesco
Julieta's eyes widened as she turned to see the boy who answered, “Here.”
Since Julieta's father was a Shakespearean scholar she knew full well all about the classic tale of the star-crossed lovers.
Romeo was clueless, but Julieta was more than happy to bring him up to speed.
They soon became steadfast friends all through middle school and high school. Julieta thought they would one day marry, in this respect Romeo remained clueless, being more interested and involved in sports, repairing cars, and one day joining the military.
Romeo asks Catalina, “Where’s Julieta?”
Catalina: All she said was that she was on “match making assignment”.
While Julieta is busy vetting José for Catalina, Romeo and Catalina are spending more and more time together and getting to know each other better.
During the nine (9) days Julieta was on “matchmaking assignment” Catalina enjoyed attending Romeo’s baseball games. Julieta was never interested in going to watch Romeo play in any sports.
Catalina was amazed at how Romeo could quickly diagnose what was wrong with a car and quickly get it to run right again. Julieta just thought it was a hobby for Romeo and that he would grow out of tinkering with fixing cars and maybe be a professor like her father.
Catalina marveled at how much Romeo knew about different countries in the world, she had dreamed of traveling and having adventures. Julieta loved her hometown where she was born, and would probably get married, raise a family, live and work until she died there.
On Day 10 José asks Julieta to marry him, and she says yes.
Romeo asks Catalina to marry him, and she says yes.
Everyone prays a Novena of Thanksgiving for Saint Joseph’s intercession in finding spouses for Julieta, José, Catalina, and Romeo.
Julieta: I should have known it would be José, it was his namesake Saint Joseph who brought us together. Romeo was a school girl illusion because I thought Romeo and Julieta sounded romantic. But the reality is that José and Julieta are really more romantic in real life than trying to bring a classic tale to life.
A perfect match is not merely pairing stuffed toy animals, or students sitting in a class, or people waiting to board the bus, train, or airplane, or watching romantic movies.
A perfect match is truly a match made in Heaven, as God’s gift and with God’s grace.
Maybe not perfect in the ways of the world, but perfect in the Eyes of God.
“What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” - Mark 10:9
They had a double wedding at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church with Father Henry Hunt.
They saved on the wedding and reception expenses, two weddings together for the price of one.
Romeo joined the Navy and Catalina gets to travel and see the world.
José and Julieta are majoring in English Literature at the extension center of Rio Bravo University so they won’t have to leave their hometown.
After all these years of playing matchmaker Julieta finally makes a perfect match: Hers!