St. Joseph the Worker as the Model of Healing for the Sons of St. Joseph
“St. Joseph takes us into his carpenter shop; and (as the sun glances through the open door) he teaches us not in words but in deeds that in the glorious drama of life in which
It’s always darkest before the dawn – recovery in the depths of homosexuality, pornography, and addiction.
“Those who can cry out from the abyss are not in the very depths of the abyss. Their very cry lifts them up.” ~ St. Augustine When life becomes its darkest, when we succumb to
The Gay Well – A Big Empty Hole in the Ground
In the first place, man, the image of God, was created “male and female” (Gen 1:27). Men and women are equal as persons and complementary as male and female. Sexuality is something that pertains to
Coming to Terms with My Own Disordered Gay Brokenness and Realizing that Jesus Was the Only Man Who Could Fix Me
Above: Carl Larrson, "In the Carpenter Shop" (1905). “God created us to love and to be loved, so it is our test from God to choose one path or the other. Any negligence in loving
Surviving the AIDS Massacre and a Warning to Catholics Who Somehow Find Good in Gay
Prologue: When I got to San Francisco in 1988, I expected an endless funeral procession to be moving down Castro Street – there wasn’t. Instead, I saw hundreds of boys, just like me: rather wide-eyed,
Beyond Courage: Homosexuality and My Experience with Small Group Support
Be of good courage; God will be present, as we now feel, to us who seek, who promises a certain most blessed body after this, and an utter plenitude of Truth without any falsehood. –
Healing the Gay Family Tree
“The Gospels clearly describe the fatherly responsibility of Joseph toward Jesus. For salvation-which comes through the humanity of Jesus-is realized in actions which are an everyday part of family life, in keeping with that ‘condescension’
The Role of Forgiveness in Same-Sex Attraction Recovery
St. Augustine said of anger: “It is better not to allow anger, however just and reasonable, to enter at all, than to admit it in ever so slight a degree; once admitted, it will not
The Divine Mercy Image as a Window into Salvation
At the moment of Christ’s intervention in my life, I saw the beautiful countenance of Jesus in the Image of Divine Mercy; at the time, I had no idea the history or background of the
The Body of Christ Will Heal the Brokenness of the Homosexual
“…the Eucharist is the sacrament of Christ’s Passion according as a man is made perfect in union with Christ Who suffered.” ~ St. Thomas Aquinas Every gay man is a broken individual. For, in early
Freedom From Sex and Porn Addiction Through The Seven Sorrows and Joys of St. Joseph
Sadly, nowadays, St. Joseph is most often invoked by those trying to sell a home – yet, he is the most powerful Saint, after Our Lady, that has ever been. For, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:
How Often Should I Go To Confession?
“When I go to confession, it is in order to be healed, to heal my soul, to heal my heart and to be healed of some wrongdoing. The biblical icon which best expresses them in
St Joseph: The Storehouse of God’s Will and A Powerful Advocate in Heaven
“God found in St. Joseph, as in a second David, the man that His heart desired, the man whom he could entrust with the deepest and most sacred mystery of His heart. To him as
A Saint One Day; A Sinner the Next
“The evil spirits, cunning thieves that they are, can take us by surprise and rob us of all we possess. They are watching day and night for the right moment. They roam incessantly seeking to
Be Sheltered Under the Cloak of Saint Joseph
“Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of diverse colors. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his
Fatherly Affirmation In The New Testament and In Life
“And it came to pass, in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And forthwith coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened,
The Other Joseph: The Old Testament Joseph as a Model of Steadfast Chastity
“And Joseph was of a beautiful countenance, and comely to behold. And after many days his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and said: Lie with me. But he, in no wise consenting to that
Saint Joseph the Worker as Patron of Those Battling Porn and Sex Addictions
Speaking of St. Joseph the Worker, St. Josemaria Escriva said: “He [Joseph] was not one for easy solutions and little miracles, but a man of perseverance, effort and, when needed, ingenuity. The Christian knows that
Saint Joseph: Comforter of the Willful and the Wounded
“Saint Joseph, our Father and Lord: most chaste, most pure. You were found worthy to carry the Child Jesus in your arms, to wash him, to hug him. Teach us to get to know God,
The Workshop of Saint Joseph: A Place of Healing For All Men
“Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son and showed his love by giving him the best he had. Joseph, caring for the child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a craftsman, transmitting
St. Joseph: The Masculine Epitome of Chastity
“I don't agree with the traditional picture of St Joseph as an old man, even though it may have been prompted by a desire to emphasize the perpetual virginity of Mary. I see him as
The Devil Attacks Where We Are the Weakest
“We must behave as people do in a besieged city: they watch where the attackers are strongest and the defenses weakest. If they fail to do this, the city is lost. In the same manner
Fasting As the Best Means to Control Porn and Sex Addictions
And immediately the father of the boy crying out, with tears said: I do believe, Lord: help my unbelief. And when Jesus saw the multitude running together, he threatened the unclean spirit, saying to him:
10 Most Powerful Porn-Fighter Saints: Heavenly Helpers in the Battle Against Pornography
Since leaving the "gay" community in 1999, and rededicating my life to chastity, I have found the following Saints to be very efficacious in terms of battling all sorts of sexual vices, including: porn addictions, promiscuity,
Embarrassment at Confession and The Habitual Sexual Sinner
“You wrote to tell me that you have at last gone to confession and that you experienced the humiliation of having to open the sewer — that is what you say — of your life
One of the Shortest, But Greatest Prayers I Have Ever Seen…
St. John of the Cross once wrote, to one of his many correspondents, who were constantly asking him for spiritual advice: “God deliver from ourselves.” Truer words were never put down on paper by a
Embracing the Cross is the Only Route to Salvation
"Christ on the Cross," (above) Pietro da Cortona: 1661 and "St. Francis of Assisi embracing the crucified Christ," (left) Bartolome Murillo: 1668-69. “Our Lord proclaimed through St. Matthew: ‘My yoke is sweet and my burden
“There is nothing so strong as gentleness and there is nothing so gentle as real strength.”
When I read this quote, the first person I think of is my dear protector Saint Joseph: "There is nothing so strong as gentleness and there is nothing so gentle as real strength." ~ Saint
Devotion to Saint Joseph: Guardian of Christ and First Teacher to the Savior
I am often asked: “Why the devotion to St. Joseph?” Without going into a lengthy explanation, which I do in my book, I usually say that everyone, especially males, young or old, should have a
Jesus Through Saint Joseph as the Healer of the Homosexual Mind
Meditation is something I came to rather late in life. Until I was in my late-twenties and early-thirties, I never gave it any thought at all. When I entered a religious community, I began to
Art and Beauty
I recently discovered a great contemporary religious artist by the name of Joseph F. Brickey. I have not seen such exquisitely beautiful works since the great neo-classical artists of the 19th Century: i.e Bouguereau, Ingres,