allforhisgreaterglory

Anonymous asked: Hi Joe! ill try to keep this ask as short as possible. theres this cute guy I see at Mass and he looks so holy & devout & attractive & I cant help but stare at him sometimes to the point where he becomes a distraction. I know its a bad thing to have him take away my focus from Christ at Mass but at the same time I feel drawn to this guy. Hes literally perfect and we've exchanged smiles and glances in church and I get the feeling he wants to talk to me as much as I want to to him but were 2 shy 2

Hahahaha first off, props for fitting this all into the 500 character ask limit. :P

Well I’ve definitely had a similar experience to yours seeing an attractive, holy looking girl pop in and out of daily Mass every now and then in my parish LOL and I kinda understand that sense of wanting to get to know her more and be friends with her.

She’s been a distraction for me as well and I guess though it’s a wonderful gift from God that we can appreciate His creation, it’s easy to fall into the traps of infatuation and the tendency to make people out to be much more than what they are. Like, you begin the paint a picture of this stranger based on what you can externally see and suddenly your mind takes over the whole canvas and you begin to paint a picture of this person with the brush of your internalized expectations and hopes and ideas of perfection.. When really, until you actually get to talk to the person and get to know them, you won’t even know if these things are true.

Take my unhealthy obsession with Emma Watson for example. I might claim that she’s the most magical girl I’ve ever seen before in my life because she’s cast a spell on me but if I’m just basing this on her character from the Harry Potter movies or from what I’ve read about her without really actually personally getting to know her then I’m really not in the position to say she’s literally the most perfect girl in the world for me.

And like, even though that girl I see at daily Mass looks like she’d be “the one for me” in my mind just because her hair falls down the right way, her smile is enough to light up the whole church, or her reverence when receiving the Eucharist is just asdfghjkl; (I’ll stop now), it would be unfair to her and to me if I began to dwell on this unrealistic and incomplete image I have of her instead of resolve to actually get to know her more; talk to her, invite her for coffee etc…..

In this case then, we’d be dealing with a whole ‘nother thing. At least, I think I can speak for most young men when I say that most of the time, our inability or hesitation to ask girls out or get to know them more has to do with either pride or fear.

Either the pride that we don’t want to put ourselves out there and be subject to scrutiny or admit that wooing a girl involves some sense of humility, service, and chivalry; or the fear that we’ll be rejected, let down, too uninteresting, boring, or unable to keep up a relationship.

Idk. Just the way I see it though.

I wish I could say more about this, but I obviously can’t speak for what goes on in a girl’s mind, and, quoting the words of Chad Dansworth from High School Musical: I don’t attempt to understand the female mind… It’s foreign territory.

Hope this helps though! I know I kinda beat around the bush for this question A LOT but just in summary, be wary of infatuation/unrealistic expectations, either see this distraction as a way of God trying to tell you something and move you to action (talk to the guy, wait for him to talk to you BUT I DO NOT SUGGEST THIS OMG NICE CATHOLIC GUYS MAKING THE FIRST MOVE LOL SO OUTRAGEOUS I CAN’T EVEN) or try to get rid of the distraction altogether - like, I don’t know. Switch parishes LOL.

Because if you just let the distraction be means for nothing more than wishful thinking and daydreaming and staring and whatnot, then……. You’re not really doing God’s will either way.

Good luck and God bless! 

Anonymous asked: Check out David Archuleta's Somebody Out There. :) I don't know if the song will click with guys the same way it clicks with girls. Anyway, take a listen, and tell me. :)

Hey! Sorry for the super late reply to this.

To be honest, I’m not much of an Archuleta fan, although, fun fact for ya: I actually have a friend who looks eerily similar to him:

Sorry. Random, I know.

But I did give the song a listen as you requested and I thought it was a nice, cheesy, romantic, boy-band-lyric-esque song.

Not that that’s bad.

That’s totally my tmfb posts in a nutshell.

Nice, cheesy, romantic, and boy-band-lyric-esque.

Except I don’t have thousands of screaming women following me wherever I go.

And I digress…… :P

Anonymous asked: Hi, I used to be really into my faith,strongly believed in God and loved being Catholic. B/c of some people, events, a change in myself...I am just not sure God exists anymore. I feel like it was all a lie, a security blanket...what do I do?

Hey anon. First things first. Know that you’re in my prayers.

The thing about faith is that it rarely ever makes things easy. But it certainly has the power to make the impossible, possible.

I can honestly empathize with you as I’ve also gone through stages of my life where I’ve questioned the work of God in my life and struggled with my beliefs. At the time, I used to think that questioning my faith was a sign of weakness and sinfulness on my part, but now I realize that often times, it is through questioning our faith, searching for the truth in our daily sufferings, embracing our crosses, and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable that we begin to experience in a more tangible way, the love of God.

As for feeling that your faith could be a lie or a security blanket, I’d like to call you to reflect on St. Augustine’s words, that our hearts will always be restless until they rest in God. It’s something I’m sure we’ve all come to experience in our lives, as we go through times of emptiness and loneliness. But God remains, whether or not we know it. He’s there.

What I’d suggest for you is that you pray, with true honesty and sincerity, for trust in His mercy and goodness. Try to go to Mass as often as possible. Consecrate yourself to Our Blessed Mother. Frequent the Sacraments. Surround yourself with good media and good company. If anything else, just pray. Listen to His voice.

Know that there’s nothing wrong with having questions, or a lack of answers.

God bless you.

closertothelost asked: That rap was brilliant, yo.

Anonymous asked: do the other colleges your considering have as strong of a Catholic atmosphere as steubie???

I don’t think I’m in any position to judge that strictly speaking (since I haven’t visited all four and there’s not really an objective way to determine this), though the colleges I’m highly considering (UD, TAC, UST, FUS) are listed on the Newman Guide which implies their faithfulness to the teachings of the Magisterium and dedication to promoting a strong sacramental life on campus (3/4 daily Masses, daily Confession, perpetual Adoration, etc.). So that’s a good sign.

The only college of these four that I’ve been able to visit so far is Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA, and just by judging from its $22 million basilica chapel, I think it’s safe to assume that the guys that run this place are pretty serious about their Catholicism. :P

While I’m convinced that FUS definitely has a strong Catholic atmosphere and presence, I’m not so sure it’s the one for me.

For one, I’ve agreed with my parents that Steubenville is too far away from where I live, and on another note, I’m not so sure I’d be able to thrive in what seems to me like a heavily extroverted, charismatic community.

Oh, and I also applied to UC Berkeley, but let’s not go there……….

Anonymous asked: Om. You can track me? Curse those hidden alleys on Tumblr. Anyway, sorry. The part about the "hoping to meet someone like you" is for real. But the part about the guy actually being you was just playing around... since, well, even if you're a really awesome and insightful Catholic writer, it's not like I know you personally. :) I was actually on the brink of deleting my Tumblr when I found out tracking anons was possible. Don't track me. *bangs head on keyboard*

Haha, no worries. I didn’t even know I could! Besides, if anyone should be banging their head on the keyboard right now, it should be Brandon LOL. Giving away your secrets dealing with anons, eh buddy?

Anonymous asked: Just found my faith, I go to a women's college run by a religious group, how do I get stronger in my faith? i read the Bible, pray, go to mass on Sunday and do charity work. is there anything else I can do? Thank you :)

Frequent the sacraments! Go to Adoration as often as you can! read the Catechism! Learn about the lives of the saints!

This might sound harsh, but never be content with where you are in your spiritual journey (in other words, pray that you might avoid complacency). Know that the Lord continually asks us to become better followers each day through embracing our crosses and dedicating ourselves to a life of love for Him, for others, and for ourselves. By the looks of your ask so far, it seems like you’re doing a good job already. (: You’ll be in my prayers, anon!

- Joseph