Hi, all! Thanks for checking out The Catholic Magazine! I want in this article to write briefly about my vision for the magazine and why I decided to start it.
Life is hard.
It’s no surprise to any of us that being a faithful Catholic, especially a Catholic young adult, in the secular world is difficult. We have so many distractions and temptations that, even if we lived in a strongly Christian culture, we’d still need to support each other. I first envisioned this magazine in November 2019 (so long ago!) after becoming discouraged and disillusioned with the struggle to find a Catholic young adult group near me. I had spent four years at a Catholic college, surrounded by people who challenged me to live my faith more devoutly, learning about Catholic theology and philosophy, and with easy access to daily liturgies. Then I graduated and found myself out in the “real world”, as I call it.
Yikes.
What a big change. I found myself surrounded by people who had little to no knowledge of the freedom of the Gospel. My new friends, some of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met, were unfortunately actively engaged in the hookup culture while not-so-privately struggling with meaning and their value as human beings. They looked at my worldview and questioned me about it frequently. Suddenly, my time spent studying Christian teaching changed into finding ways to show that same love of God to my new friends. I still, years later, consider that time to be one of the most important and formative times in my life.
Even during this grace-filled time, I felt completely isolated from my home church, a huge parish consisting almost entirely of middle-age parents and their young kids. Let’s not lie to ourselves: parish life can feel really, really lonely, regardless of if you’re single like me or married, even though the Church is supposed to be a community and a family of faith.
And so I first mentioned the idea of starting a magazine for Catholic young adults to a few friends, some of whom are Catholic and some who are devout Protestants. Surprisingly, everyone agreed that the magazine idea had serious potential, especially because many of these same friends were experiencing the same isolation as I felt.
So, what do I want for this magazine?
Well, it’s somewhat ironic, since this article is written so far entirely about my own thoughts and experiences, but I don’t want the magazine to be about me. I cringe at the idea of Catholic celebrities and the idea of promoting myself–not because I’m humble, but because I know that I have a tendency to think too highly of myself and to fall into the trap of seeking popularity and fame. I think about John the Baptist’s comment that he must decrease so that Christ can increase. This idea means that the magazine will feature Catholics who live and work in normal situations.
Secondly, our culture and our Church are extremely polarized. We all suffer from the tendency and temptation to separate into our separate viewpoints, failing to listen to and engage with people who disagree with us. I want, then, for this magazine to serve as a forum for people to come together and to work for the unity for which Jesus prays in John 17:20-21 by having authentic discussions within the realm of Catholic orthodoxy. We’ll talk about current events, theology, spirituality, and much more, all from an orthodox Catholic point of view. (But rest assured that we’ll remain apolitical, in the sense that we’ll never advocate for or against any political parties. We’re here to build up unity in the Gospel, not to tell you how to think.)
Finally, I hope that this magazine will edify and strengthen all of us, myself included, bringing us closer to God and allowing us to love the Lord by loving our neighbor.
In short: I think that we’ve got something with great potential here, and I hope that you’ll come along for the ride as we work together to build the kingdom of God!