After a year of planning, the day finally came. Julia and I were ready to start our lives together. Our visits to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine and the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche made us fall in love with them. We decided we had to get married there.
We had a wonderful Wedding Mass with the priest that confirmed me as the presider. So much family traveled from far away to celebrate with us that day and made the day so special.
Beginning Our Lives Together
After a wonderful honeymoon in Jamaica, we flew back to Ohio to start our lives together. After a couple of months, I had had enough and wanted to go back to Florida. I had always dreamed of moving to Naples, FL. My family used to vacation there when I was a teenager. I was determined to one day live there. Well, my wish came true. I was offered a job in the area, and less than 3 months into our marriage, we were moving to Naples.
Once in Naples, we ran into one major issue. You see, when we were being formed as Catholics at St. Augustine’s in Gainesville a few years prior, we were taught the importance of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament and the Mass. When we got to Naples, it seemed everywhere we went, this was an afterthought, which didn’t sit well with us. I often left Mass feeling angry, as it felt more like a community prayer dinner rather than the the worship of Jesus at the representation of Calvary. But, one day we were introduced to a small community in Naples called Christ the King Mission (now called Corpus Christi).
FSSP and the Latin Mass
When we felt we couldn’t stand to starve anymore for reverence in the Mass, God heard our cry. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) was having Latin Masses in Naples. We had been to a Latin Mass a couple of years prior in Ohio, but it felt foreign and I hadn’t really liked it. But, being in the drought we were, spiritually, we decided to give it a couple of tries. Julia and I began to fall in love with the Traditional form of the Mass. It seemed to allow us to fall into the background and make the worship of Jesus in the Eucharist the center of everything. We were privileged to witness this great miracle.
Naples Coming to a Close….For Now
Being Nomads at heart though, after about a year and a half, we began to get antsy. We were ready for a new location. Julia and I went to visit a friend in Chicago for a long weekend, and we couldn’t believe our eyes. Some of the Churches and architecture were breathtaking. Also, I love trains, and Chicago has fantastic public transit. I was determined after that weekend to move to Chicago.