The Christian Vanguard

I'm on Catholic Match. I don't know why. I shouldn't be. I have no business being there. But I am. A part of me hates myself for it, another part just really wants to be successful. I guess I consider it a scraping of the barrel, because, you know, online dating. But, whatever, that's not what I want to talk about. So, I've had a few exchanges with one woman, and being the fool that I am, I didn't look through her profile because she initiated conversation. When I finally did, I saw that she had a child. That's a big NO for me. My friend told me to man up. So, I just want to sort of lay out my reservations here, and maybe we can extract some more general principles from them.  I'll be honest and say I haven't really given it much thought. I mean, I've given it some consideration, but I haven't applied thought to it. It just really rubs me the wrong way, and that was sufficient for me. So, what exactly bothers me about it? What does not b...

On the right hand of this blog, I say that I am single and ready to mingle. Indeed, I am, but I grow weary of it. Recently, I had become attached to this woman, and I thought about dating her. We had a few conversations about it, but I stopped when she said, "I am not attracted to you. You are everything I want in a man, but I just am not attracted to you." And, you know, that's definitely not easy to hear. It's had me up a few nights, and I've been thinking, so this here is just what I have so far. Nothing too organized, but some ideas for fodder.  It is true, I am not an attractive man. I can't deny that. I'm not fit, I have a porous nose, and I have a round face. She has said that she can't be compatible with someone she isn't attracted to, but I've already written about such slogans before. So, that part is nonsense. I mean, in her view, I am a virtuous man, a faithful man, and a son of the Church, which, in my opinion, is really all ...

I've dipped my toe back in the dating scene. I'm not dating, but I've started investing a little more in my friendships with women. Women I wouldn't mind dating. This is probably a bad idea though, as I can't really afford to invest this time anyways. But why do I desire this? What about marriage makes a man want to spend himself so much? Many of my philosopher friends will say that it is because marriage is a good, and goods are worth pursuing for precisely that reason. While I agree that marriage is a good, it's a little more than that. Pitching it as a mere good is to sell it short. Marriage isn't just good, it's sacred.  When I reflect on that, I become a little embarrassed. When I think of things that are sacred, I have in mind something reverent and so glorious, that it keeps one silent. "Be still and know that I am God" says the Bible. When I am in front of the blessed sacrament, I am quite, still, at ease, at peace, etc. Or if I we...