Here you go, Anon!

Thanks for the help! =]

Hey, Anon!

You are not the only one who struggles with this and God loves you unconditionally, so do not fear! With His grace, you can and will overcome this sin and be given His forgiveness. =]

I’m not sure if you are a guy or a girl, so my first piece of advice would be to talk with a priest, a religious, or a devout person that you trust about how to overcome this sin. This can be very difficult to talk about (kudos for asking about it and getting it out in the open, that’s a wonderful first step!), so talk to someone you are comfortable around.

Second, I would recommend reading this article. While it’s clear that you understand masturbation is wrong, reading this full explanation of the Church’s teaching on masturbation should help motivate you to fight the temptation.

Whenever you feel the temptation to self-pleasure, pray! Just take one step at a time to overcome this. Every time you’re tempted is an opportunity to say no, to become closer to God, and to fight the hold this sin has over you.

I’ll be praying for you and I hope this is helpful!

Pax et bonum, friend.

Hey, Anon!

I may be wrong on this, but I would say that since you are considered an adult in the Church (assuming you were Confirmed), that yours sins are your sins whether you are 18, 19, or the age you are now.

Again, I could be wrong about this, so I would ask your priest for a more reliable answer!

Pax et bonum. =]

Hi, Anon! Thank you so much for coming to me with your questions. First off, you are in my prayers and I will be praying that you become happier and healthier by the day. I am so thankful that you are still here to send me a message. =]

Your question is a tough one, but I will do my absolute best to answer it. (If any of you followers happen to have suggestions or words of wisdom that would help Anon, please send them my way!)

Each and every person is raised in a unique environment and a unique home - no two people were brought up the same way, and how we are raised does have an effect on how we grow up. Similarly, each person’s faith journey is unique; how they come to know and love God and how they practice their faith is different from how everyone else does it.

If you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a short anecdote that may be of some help: I was raised Roman Catholic. My parents had me baptized when I was a baby, they made sure that I received all the sacraments at the appropriate times, they took me to Mass on Sundays, etc. However, my parents got divorced when I was 16, which was also when I was able to drive myself around. Essentially, my faith became largely my own thing when I was 16. I started going to Mass on my own, occasionally with one of my parents, and became very involved in my parish. I like to say that my friends at church helped continue to raise me in my faith since I spent so much time with them doing various things like youth group and whatnot.

Now, the reason I told you that anecdote was to try and show you that a) we each have our own unique faith journeys and b) no matter the circumstances of how you are raised, you can always turn to God and overcome the difficulties you have faced in your life.

Regarding your question as to whether being raised more devoutly would have made your life better, I must tell you having faith does not mean that your life will be free of troubles and difficulties. Speaking from personal experience and after reading about the lives of saints, being close to God does not mean that you will have a life free of tragic or traumatic moments. However, having faith does help you get through these troubles, that much I can promise you. In that sense, it makes your life infinitely better because you can, with the help of God and His grace, find the deeper meaning in the troubles you face and realize that your ultimate happiness and destiny is not of this world. If you seek God with all of your heart - or at least as much of it as you are capable of at a given time - you will find comfort in Him. He wants us to be happy, but the happiness that He wills for us is not what the worldly definition of happiness, rather it is an eternal joy greater than we could ever imagine. Trials and tribulations are often key in helping us achieve this perfect happiness and growing closer to God. There are plenty of churchgoing people who are unhappy and confused, trust me. We don’t have all the answers, but we turn to God because we know that He does. Sometimes, you just have to have faith in Him and His plan.

As for your past relationships, if I read your question correctly (please forgive me if I didn’t), are you saying that you are not quite sure about your sexuality? If that is the case, I would say that prayer and reflection will help you be certain. Catholics (and, quite frankly, all people) are called to love and care for our LGBT brothers and sisters! To be honest, I am not sure how to respond to your statement that you don’t want to be attracted to the same sex anymore. Personally, I believe (and the Church teaches) that our sexuality is not a choice, rather it is a part of who we are and how we were made. If I may, I’d like to direct you to two resources: here and here. I’m hesitant to continue answering this question because I do not want to steer you in the wrong direction. Please don’t hesitate to send me more questions if you feel inclined, though!

The main point is that we are to embark on this journey with God and let Him work in our lives; He knows how to meet us where we are, challenge us to grow closer to Him, and how to help us when we fall. Do not lose hope! God knows you better than you know yourself, and if you truly want to know and love Him, He will help you. I can’t tell you how He will help you, but He will.

I’d like to leave you with a couple of quotes and songs that have really helped me when I’ve struggled with life events. I hope they bring you comfort!

“Be who God intended you to be and you will set the world on fire.” -St. Catherine of Siena

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” -Benjamin Franklin

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” -Mulan

“To live without hope is to cease to live.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win.” -Margaret Thatcher

Songs:
“Faith to Fall Back On” by Hunter Hayes
“Let It Go” by Zac Brown Band
“Keep Your Head Up” by Andy Grammer

Pax et bonum, friend. =]

Hey, Anon! Here’s a somewhat short answer to your question. There’s undoubtedly more profundity to the meaning of Ash Wednesday than I explain here, but I want to try and explain it as clearly as possible.

Meaning of Ash Wednesday: Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Liturgical season of Lent, a time of repentance and - most importantly - growing in our relationship with God and preparing ourselves to enter into a reflection of His Passion and Resurrection. The meaning of Ash Wednesday is shown quite nicely in one of the phrases that may be said when you receive ashes: “Turn away from sin and be faithful toward the Gospel.” Here’s a quote from an article that explains the meaning quite well: “It is a clear call to conversion, to that movement away from sin and toward Christ that we have to embrace over and over again through our lives. As the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday calls us to the conversion journey that marks the season.” In short, Lent is about turning away from sin and turning towards God. By acknowledging that we have sinned and do sin (the ashes we receive are a reminder of this), we can turn away from that and begin a “conversion journey” back to God.

What happens at church on Ash Wednesday: Contrary to popular belief, Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation. However, going to Mass is still a wonderful thing to do, as it is every day of the year! The distribution of ashes occurs at Mass (although some churches do distribute ashes outside of Mass for those who want to receive ashes before going to work, etc.) where the faithful receive the mark of a cross, made from ashes, on their foreheads. Catholics are also called to fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday.

Pax et bonum!

Hey, Anon! Forgive me for the awful delay in getting back to you. Admittedly, I am often too negligent towards my ask box. I hope you can forgive me!

You are most certainly not alone in feeling this way, that is for sure. One of my dear friends just started dating a guy and she is 20. I’m 20, as well, and have never had a serious relationship.

The short (and sometimes unsatisfying) answer is that we must do our best to be patient, to pray, and to wait for God’s plan for us to unfold. This is much easier said than done, but God’s plan is far better than one we could ever imagine. Keeping faith in His plan and His will can help us keep going, no matter the struggles we face.

As for feeling alone, we must remember that God is to be our first love and our first priority, above everything and everyone else. It is through loving others that we love Him and vice versa. We are never alone, ever, because God is constantly with us - often in ways that we don’t realize.

I know that my response may be a bit unsatisfying, but honestly I believe that there is no quick fix. All of our relationships - including romantic ones - ought to serve God and we must enter into relationships out of a love for Him and for others. Romantic relationships are not designed to fulfill our needs, rather they are designed to allow us to search the good of our significant other out of love for them and for God.

If you’d like me to elaborate more, don’t hesitate to ask!

Most importantly - don’t lose hope! You are a daughter of God, beautifully and wonderfully made by Him. There is no greater blessing than this.

Pax et bonum.

Anon, I am terribly sorry that you have had negative experiences with Catholics before. We are called to love everyone, but we are human and certainly not perfect.

If you could elaborate on your question, I would be most happy to do what I can to give you a proper answer.

Pax et bonum, friend!

Anon, I would like to leave you with two articles as my response. They do a much better job of explaining the topic of women clergy than I could.

Article on Bl. Pope John Paul II’s discussion of the role of women in the church.
Here is the text of Bl. Pope John Paul II’s letter to women.

I hope that helps bring some clarity about the essential, unique, and irreplaceable role of women in the Church.

Pax et bonum!