Subconsciously, many men know that fraternity will make humbling demands of them. It will challenge them to do the things they should be doing, but don’t because there is no one keeping them accountable. Isolation makes us inert, inertia makes us susceptible to temptation and sin, and sin further isolates us from our brethren and from God.
Tag: manliness
When Fathers Despair, We All Despair
A picture of a father in tears at London’s recent Extinction Rebellion demonstration left me troubled.
Traditional Liturgy and Catholic Masculinity
Anecdotally, it seems that the traditional Mass attracts proportionately more men than modern forms of the Mass. Why is it that Catholic lay men in particular are drawn to the traditional Mass? What is there about its form that appeals to Catholic men of our time?
Is There Such a Thing as Authentic Catholic Manhood?
Why is it that men are created to be fathers? Pope St John Paul II tells us in ‘Familiaris Consortio’ that human fatherhood is meant to reveal and relive on earth the very fatherhood of God.
Hope, Despair and the Need for Friendship in Lord of the Rings – the Choices Facing Catholic Men Today
We Catholic men have a choice before us. Either we arise from our stupor and put our houses in order, then pick up our weapons and join the battle, or we let the effluence of fear and despair creep deep into our souls and we give up entirely. Each, individual man, in his own environment and with his own particular set of circumstances, has that singular choice to make: get a grip or give up.
The Crisis of Our Times – Too Many Men are Effeminate
According to Thomas Aquinas, effeminacy is an unwillingness to put aside one’s pleasure in order to pursue what is arduous. This is also his definition of sloth, but the difference is that sloth is the aversion of what’s hard whereas effeminacy is the disordered attachment to pleasure.