Fr. C. John McCloskey discusses issues facing those who want to start a family later in life. (Read more)
Anthony spoke with Fr. C. John McCloskey about why putting off marriage is common in society today and is often a mistake. (Read more)
Anthony interviewed Fr. C. John McCloskey about how giving of oneself is at the heart of all true friendships, especially the unique friendship of marriage. (Read more)
Dear Anthony,
Why can’t people show common Christian courtesy and send a reply to a message? I know you have spoken about this in the past, but it’s just too frustrating and I am wondering what the point is anymore of using the site if this is just going to keep happening. What am I missing? (Read more)
Anthony interviews Fr. C. John McCloskey about finding happiness in the context of marriage. (Read more)
Dear Anthony,
I’m a single woman and I’ve been good friends with a single man for several years. Lately I find myself comparing other men to him and seeing that no one measures up, and I feel upset whenever he talks about other women. And now, in addition to the emotional attraction, I find myself attracted to him physically. I have no idea how he would feel about all this, though, and I’m afraid to find out. Where do I go from here? (Read more)
Dear Anthony,
I’ve been in regular contact with a man in writing and on the phone for a couple of months. When I mentioned to him that we should plan to meet in person, he said he has so much going on in his life right now that he doesn’t want to add to it by setting up a time to meet me. I’m at a loss. Am I right to be concerned? (Read more)
Dear Anthony,
I take exception to the assumption you make in your column "The Call to Marriage" that there is only a calling to the priesthood and that marriage is a default position. This point of view is valid only for someone who has never lost hope in either the possibility of love or the sacrament of marriage. Those who have no good role models for marriage and who view marriage as temporary and always ending in separation or divorce because of examples set by parents, relatives, or friends, do in fact get a "call" to be married. My view of marriage for many years was that it does not work. I had lost any hope that I would have a lasting marriage and had simply decided I would not get married. After returning to the Church I began to get this call indicating that my assumptions about marriage were wrong. A divorced coworker, commenting on my attitude toward marriage, said I should try it, it might not turn out the way his did. I am getting a distinct "calling" that my abandonment of hope for a permanent marriage is not warranted. Marriage as a default position may hold for the small percentage of young adults who come from stable families with good role models, but for average young adults (and even older ones like me) who see long-term marriage as rare, and have few good role models, God does indeed call to tell them there is a chance for something different in their flawed concept of marriage. (Read more)
Dear Anthony,
Do you have any advice for a dating couple with a difference in past sexual experiences? (I have had none; my boyfriend has had some.) In Patricia Wrona’s book The Exclamation, she writes that it is better if a couple is equally yoked, i.e., both virgins rather than one virgin and one very experienced. I agree with her that it shouldn’t be a deal breaker, but it is awkward. Also, it bothers me that in conversation my boyfriend occasionally mentions the name of someone from his past sexual experiences.
Sexual experiences in a person’s past are never a “deal breaker.” What matters is how a person has dealt with his or her promiscuous past. (Read more)
Dear Anthony,
I’m dating a man who’s great in every way but he happens to be deeply in debt (not through his own fault), and he is working on becoming debt-free before marriage. I’m a bit concerned about his situation and wondered if you have any thoughts. (Read more)
