I was recently talking to a male friend about man’s common failure to ask women out on dates. “Men need to be intentional,” he said. He pointed out that men today hedge their bets when it comes to dealing with women they’re interested in, engaging them casually but otherwise failing to invest. “But I sympathize with them,” he added. “Men today don’t know how to act around women.” I had to laugh to myself. To me—a single, 25-year-old, female Catholic—I’ve always thought... Read more

Like many others, I have been closely following the news surrounding the Women’s March occurring in DC today. The conversation surrounding it has been interesting, yet largely unsurprising, and, for me, very frustrating. I’ve found it frustrating because the March’s purpose and surrounding controversy not only touches on, but stems from two of my greatest passions – (1) infants, both inside and outside of the womb, and (2) womenhood/women’s health. And to my disappointment, in the present conversation, I find... Read more

Forgive me for the long (read: very, very long) hiatus I took smack dab in the center of this series. It was very Mary Kate-esque of me to start my first series and then take, like, a two month break after the first post. *sigh* His power is perfected in my weakness, y’all. Mea Culpa! Anyway, so: in continuing this series, we come to the second most common response I had when I asked young adults in a recent survey... Read more

Well, not just ‘dates’ necessarily—maybe “25, Catholic, & Tryna Get A Good Catholic Spouse” would’ve been a better title here—but like, *clickbait*, ya know? I digress… From a marketing perspective, it’s definitely stupid that I’m putting this article out as the first of this series. If I had any smarts at all, I’d tease this one in 3 or 4 other articles before posting it, as it’s *undoubtedly* the most appealing topic for single young adults. (Also BIG shouts to my... Read more

A few weeks back, I went to an event with the Archdiocese of Chicago, where the guest speakers were Mark Wahlberg and Cardinal Blasé Cupich. I’ll admit that I left slightly disappointed, and found myself wondering in the days following what it is young adults need to see from the church. So in the midst of my pondering, I put together a little survey and sent it to a couple dozen friends who expressed an interest in helping me out.... Read more

As I write this, I’m sitting in a French bakery in Lakeview East, eating a croissant and drinking a latte and wishing I were in a real Parisian bakery instead of this one in Chicago. I’m not well-dressed for the present low temperatures, a million chores demand my attention at home, and currently, my car is waiting for me in a tow lot on the north side. For the sake of context, I feel compelled to add this is the... Read more

I posted a video on my Facebook page earlier this week in which I argued that pornography contributes to the sexual violence that’s so rampant in our culture today, and was met with significant resistance from a handful of the men who follow me. Their reaction reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend just over a year ago. He’d told me, laughing, that Barstool Sports had announced they’d hired a former porn star for a spot on... Read more

‘The Four Loves’ is one of those books that totally changes your life. It’s the kind of book you can’t hardly put down once you’ve picked it up, and when you finally do, you feel like you’re looking at the world with an entirely new set of eyes. It discusses the philosophies and greater meanings behind the different types of love we experience throughout our lives, in a way that’s both thoughtful and practical—which I’ve found is remarkably useful material... Read more

Around this time last year, I traveled to Italy alone for one month. And when I look back on that time, there’s a lot that I can say I gained—spiritually, figuratively, what have you—from the experience. One of those items is a immense appreciation for dining alone. It’s something I’ve come to relish in. Almost every payday, pending other plans, I treat myself to a meal out all by myself. That’s not to say I don’t love socializing or crave quality time... Read more

Hugh Hefner died last week. As a Catholic, it’s tough to know the right way to respond to his death. A lot of Catholic figures suggested we should pray that he repented and recognized Christ before he died. This is probably the right idea. After drinking a pot of coffee around 7PM last night for no good reason in particular, I found myself still awake and staring wide-eyed at my computer at 3AM—which is when I came across a 2015... Read more