From the Illinois Team: Daniele

It is always such an amazing thing to be able to see God working in the intimacy of marriages. From the moment the team met Friday for dinner, until the moment we said good-bye to the Bolt’s and Fr. Jay, you could tell God was busy. He was busy making all the little details come together to make the facility be what we needed, when we needed it; to make the talks work upon the hearts of those who care enough about their marriages to take the time to make them better; to make the short nights be enough for us to face the long days ahead.

From one talk to the next, we could see the hearts of the couples be slowly moved from where they were to where He wanted them to be. With each exercise, you could see the knowledge gained to move forward and grow. With each opportunity for Confession, Adoration, Prayer, Mass, and especially Father praying over us in Polish; you could see the chains that were holding these marriages back slowly break away and let the love of our God in.

Here, two days later, I still feel immensely blessed to have been a part of the team this past weekend. I still feel blessed to have seen this retreat work wonders in my own, already good, marriage. I still feel blessed to have people like Father Jay, and Brad and Audrey Bolt as examples and reminders everyday of how to live out the vocation I have been called to. But, most of all, I feel blessed to have learned so many ways to be able to easily see the love of our Heavenly Father  through the love of the husband He has given me.

Daniele O’Toole