Inappropriate Attraction ... To Men In Cassocks

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='Piccoli Fiori JMJ' timestamp='1303778277' post='2233014']
How does one objectify a crush?
However in this case, the nickname can serve as a reminder of the temptation she is trying to avoid. I have issues with nicknames for priests that deal with one's "hawtness."
[/quote]
I'm referring to Seraphic's article that I posted. She recommended finding ways to laugh at your crush in order to get over it. So in that sense you're not laughing at the person. You're laughing at the crush which you've already recognized to be shallow and not at all representative of the person himself.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1303778369' post='2233017']
I'm referring to Seraphic's article that I posted. She recommended finding ways to laugh at your crush in order to get over it. So in that sense you're not laughing at the person. You're laughing at the crush which you've already recognized to be shallow and not at all representative of the person himself.
[/quote]

Ah, I kinda skimmed the beginning (tl;dr), so that's my fault there... That is totally fine (to laugh at a crush--I do it all the time, especially since many are married now), but using Fr. Amazing, et al. is not something I take lightly (I have some friends who constantly do this and it really gets my goat) and in this case I would think it would be more detrimental then helpful. That is just my opinion on the matter at hand.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='Piccoli Fiori JMJ' timestamp='1303778927' post='2233030']
Ah, I kinda skimmed the beginning (tl;dr), so that's my fault there... That is totally fine (to laugh at a crush--I do it all the time, especially since many are married now), but using Fr. Amazing, et al. is not something I take lightly (I have some friends who constantly do this and it really gets my goat) and in this case I would think it would be more detrimental then helpful. That is just my opinion on the matter at hand.
[/quote]
It's not how I personally would handle the situation.

[LaPetiteSoeur]

[quote name='dUSt' timestamp='1303426271' post='2230991']
I once received great advise from a priest about looking at hawt ladies. He told me that there is nothing wrong with appreciating their beauty. After all, God created them to be beautiful. But, he also told me in addition to appreciating their beauty, I should imagine myself making the sign of the cross over them, like how a priest would give a blessing. This helps me appreciate their beauty for what it is, and keeps me from moving on to more impure thoughts.
[/quote]

A priest in the vocations office told us the story of a friend of his. This friend was just ordained and as he was walking out of the church...he found himself thinking how beautiful this lady across the street was. And then he remembered he was now a priest!

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1303779034' post='2233034']
It's not how I personally would handle the situation.
[/quote]

Good to know. You just enjoy giving the pot a stir

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='Piccoli Fiori JMJ' timestamp='1303779607' post='2233048']
Good to know. You just enjoy giving the pot a stir
[/quote]
I'm a very big fan of Seraphic's blog.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1303779755' post='2233052']
I'm a very big fan of Seraphic's blog.
[/quote]

Also this.

[franciscanheart]

[quote name='Piccoli Fiori JMJ' timestamp='1303779607' post='2233048']
Good to know. You just enjoy giving the pot a stir
[/quote]
You're just catching on? Welcome to the party.

[BramletAbercrombie]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1303778369' post='2233017']
I'm referring to Seraphic's article that I posted. She recommended finding ways to laugh at your crush in order to get over it. So in that sense you're not laughing at the person. You're laughing at the crush which you've already recognized to be shallow and not at all representative of the person himself.
[/quote]

You hit the nail on the head, my friend. Calling the cute priest Fr. Hawtie is my attempt to remember how amazingly ridonk this crush really is. And no, I'm not laughing at the person, I'm totally laughing at the crush. Fr. Amazing is the most incredible confessor I've ever worked with, and his homilies are supurb, but I've only heard one of Fr. Hawtie's homilies and never confessed to him. I really do know absolutely nothing about Fr. Hawtie except for his dedication to his parish and his looks.

I know that as long as the parish is in the hands of the FSSP priests, my spiritual needs will be met. The priest before Fr. Amazing was also an incredible teacher and confessor. And I'm sure when Fr. Hawtie moves on, there will be yet another outstanding example of the Catholic priesthood who will lead our parish. I know that I'm not going to church because I want to see Fr. Hawtie, I'm going to church because I want to learn from Fr. Amazing. I also know how blessed I am that I have two priests that are so committed to the salvation of their parishoners. On Easter Vigil, my husband and I got there an hour before the vigil started. Fr. Hawtie was in the confessional booth and the line spanned the length of the church. He was in the confessional for over three hours just from what I observed without so much as a potty break. And I feel very certain that he was in there for much longer than I witnessed that day. Plus on Holy Thursday, he was also in there for around 4 hours. It's insane how much time these men spend in the confessional.

They are both very pious and holy men. I am quite blessed. And the eye candy? Just a bonus, basically.

I've been doing the prayers and devotions that Fr. Amazing suggested in the confessional, and it's made a huge world of difference, as has chatting with you good people. It's helping my priotities shift and my thoughts go from obsessive to appreicative (and much reduced in number).

At some point I hope to be able to find a comfortable place in this community, and get my post count up high enough so that my avatar shows up. It's of Stephen Colbert and quite cool.

[AccountDeleted]

I'm afraid I have only read the original post and the last one because on dial up I can't spend time to load and read every page, but I wanted to add my own comments here because this is something that resonates so much with me.

I have always been attracted to priests, especially in cassocks! And I wasn't raised a Catholic! I see it as more of a beauty thing though and the fact that I am a romantic at heart. There is just something so romantically beautiful about a man who has dedicated his life to God, especially priests, who take a vow of chastity. There is an 'untouchableness' about them that makes the beauty even purer. I wonder if men sometimes feel this way about the Blessed Virgin? She is the ideal of womanhood, while remaining pure and chaste as well. Then, combine the beauty of an untouchable 'holy person' (in the ideal) with the romance of the 'old world' clothes, and that's it - my heart just skips a beat.

For me, it isn't a carnal thing at all - more of an appreciation of beauty. That doesn't mean I don't see the physical (especially if the person is particularly attractive) - just that it is somehow transformed by their vows into something idealized and holy. The clothes just reinforce the whole picture. Perhaps that is why I prefer to see nuns in traditional habit as well. For some reason, it seems to reinforce the whole 'belonging to God' idea (at least for me). This may be immature or shallow or just my romantic soul, and I do know that clothes don't make the man (or the woman or the priest or the nun) but people do look at appearances whether they like to admit it or not.

So, as far as I am concerned - you aren't alone in your 'inappropriate attraction to men in cassocks' - and it sounds as if you are handling it just as you should too.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

[quote name='franciscanheart' timestamp='1303793222' post='2233228']
You're just catching on? Welcome to the party.
[/quote]

I usually don't like to state the obvious. Although, I make exceptions.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='BramletAbercrombie' timestamp='1303827943' post='2233350']
At some point I hope to be able to find a comfortable place in this community, and get my post count up high enough so that my avatar shows up. It's of Stephen Colbert and quite cool.
[/quote]

Hint: One way to get your post count up quickly is to post in the prayer threads. Obviously, helping your post count is not the purpose of those threads, just a little temporal bonus in addition to the spiritual.

[franciscanheart]

[quote name='Piccoli Fiori JMJ' timestamp='1303832742' post='2233383']
I usually don't like to state the obvious. Although, I make exceptions.
[/quote]

[BramletAbercrombie]

So a status update: I was enrolled in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular, and seriously, instantly the impure thoughts just stopped. It was amesome! I'd actually made it to where I could say Hi and actually had a couple of conversations with him. So things were going well.

...

until this Sunday. Father Hottie was sporting a new white cassock, and looking quite handsome. And now he's making me stupid again, and I *hate* it! I can't even look at him without my mind taking a jump into the deep end of stupid.




It's not a lustful feeling, per se. It's just an overwhelming urge to gaze at his beauty. Which makes my heart flutter. Have I mentioned lately that I'm an idiot?