Healing After a Homosexual Lifestyle In Seminary w/ Marco Casanova 

I will absolutely pray for you, God bless you!

The AIDS should scare you enough

I am praying for you to have the clarity and peace God has in mind for you and for the strength to follow His will.

Sometimes the attraction doesn’t change. Look at the founders of exodus. What you DO with that is a different story. You can still live chastity. But also please don’t despair of the attraction doesn’t change.

Praying for you!

It truly is.

It’s phrases like this that prove I am worthless. There is no cure for laziness. Only people with drive can obtain heaven.

You can be LGBT and Christian 👨‍❤️‍👨

@@ddrse you can also die in a transformer explosion ❤

@@mingus445_gaming God created everyone with a unique orientation. As unique as your God-Given fingerprints. No Two are the same. One of the letters is for you. You are included. No exceptions. Zero excuses.

My thoughts exactly.

Yes!

You can be LGBT and Christian 👨‍❤️‍👨

At the 1:24:00 this was so real. I love what he called out from Fr James Martin, then Marco gave his resources for how to proceed with caution. Integration is so important for anyone with sexual hurt, sin, or disordered desires

Agreed. And the way he speaks about the church is stunning.

agreed. beautiful man. great insight.

So this guy wants to be a priest now? Hummm

@@DarkAngel-cj6sx "Went"

Anthony, it’s nice to see you on RU-vid. Marco is such a noble man and I too remember him with much admiration during time in seminary (Rogelio).

Did you kiss him?

@@rogerraya8614 Good to hear from you brother, hope you’re doing well 😊

This woman is an evangelical, but she has helped me a lot ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0a3CpvY5gxk.html

Indeed He has a beautiful plan unfolding for you - Jeremiah 29:11-14. Praying for you that you will persevere in this adventure and discover ever more deeply and joyfully His great love for you. ❤

There isn't anything wrong with being same sex attracted.

There isn't anything wrong with being same sex attracted.

@@sarcodonblue2876it’s clearly caused this person a lot of pain and unhappiness, and her life has improved as she has sought healing for it. Are you not interested in actually listening to the lived experiences of people who have been harmed by SSA, or is your only goal to insist on pushing your agenda onto people by gaslighting them out of being able to recognize their own needs and what is best for them?

Coward.

Good for you!!

God bless you! 🎉❤

I pray for you and your separated wife, that you may both live chastely despite the separation. May St. Joseph and Immaculate Mother Mary intercede for you.

my exact thoughts, you verbalized it so well 🙂

Yes!!

Agreed!

That's Matt's expertise!

As Matt has said, vulnerability is the most powerful quality a human can have. All about humility. Listening to people being unbashful when retelling their prior shame-- It really helps me.

Amen. This was such a blessing

And then lead them out

And Henri Nouwen was a homosexual, in case you didn't know.

I’m a Baptist convert who had my first confession four months ago. Let me tell you man, it was heavy going in, but it felt so good afterwards. The relief is incredible.

Hard disagree. Confession is the worst thing about being Catholic.

@@lynncrfmore like one of the most hardest and humbling things to do as a catholic

It's something they are lacking, because they removed it. Protestant came from us, the early protestants rebelled from the Catholic Church. (And I think that will not change for a million years) I am quite shocked that you don't somehow believe in confessing directly to God. That's always their rebuttal when we talk about confession.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for posting this comment. I suspect there’s a lot of other lurkers here who have similar feelings. My situation isn’t the same as yours, but having had plenty of experience with gay issues at this point…I just don’t share the same joy that others commenting here do when I hear Marco’s story. Frankly, this video makes me feel sorry for Marco and angry at the (Institutional) Church. He doesn’t need healing from his same-sex desires. He needs to trust in God even more radically. He wants to believe that the gay/“SSA” part of him is bad, but in reality, the “SSA” part of him is part of who he is. Dismissing it as something inherently negative is to deny the Imago Dei. Don’t curse the gifts that God has given you, Marco! God loves you, including your “gayness!”

@@ElPresidenteAndycito But I’m also not here to endorse what my dad did nor what he does. It’s been a problem for me most of my life now. It used to a a shadow of shame that I only carried for him. I know now that it’s not my cross to carry. There are gay couples at my parish. They’ve integrated themselves into parish life. So I know people are trying. But this specific case stings a bit for me.

You have to remember that the lies of the devil is so attractive, if you had a true encounter with the devil you will realize his lies. Marco's entry into the gay lifestyle started with watching pornography, which meant he opened his door fully to the devil thus the devil took control of his emotions. How can that be right then with God who stated in his creation, "I created man and woman". It is the devil that dictated to him, you are gay. I know it because at one time in my life, I had this very strong empowered thought of jumping into the bridge, I know that was wrong yet it was overwhelming, I can not sit still, FYI, the devil will twist your mind if you let him into your life.

​@@user-wo2kr1gu1cyoure right porn is the door.

Your dad betrayed you and your family.

This is correct. As I say in another comment above, part of the wisdom of the Courage Apostolate is that moving toward OSA (Opposite-sex attraction) is not a requirement or one of the goals of the ministry. This is wise because not everyone wants or can afford Reintegrative (formally known as Reparative) therapy and not every person with SSA receives the grace or is able to move toward OSA.

Agreed, it's time to "get back to basics" on what homosexuality is about - and what it is not. Number One is: having a friend of the same sex does not make a person homosexual at all.

Thank you. Good remarks. In these times we need more Church Militant warriors like Marco and Matt.

I'm sorry to hear that. He must not have been much of a best friend, really? You deserve a much better best friend than that 😊

Im so sorry.

This is a huge problem nowadays. It's extremely difficult to get genuine help if you suffer from same sex attractive. There's even a big risk of being tempted instead of understood.

I pray that you have healed from that hurt

@@justaguy10100 Thanks. I’ve learned to stay in the closet around my Christian friends,

“…empathy is often more about being at the foot of the Cross with the one who suffers, awaiting the Resurrection together, than about ‘doing something.’…” ~ Deacon Dominic Cerrato in “Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate”

I use the term "SSA" mainly as a descriptor, but never have I felt that being SSA was a "cross to bear" or that I am "doomed" because I have ssa. SSA is not sinful in itself, and this is something people can't comprehend because they equate SSA with homosexual acts, which is not true. The discomfort some people, in this case men, experience towards SSA men is understandable, but it's in no way charitable to express especially in this context, it's something that stuck out to me from this interview. Homeless and sick people attend mass daily in my parish, and it's really heartbreaking when people do not notice them or are afraid of or disgusted by contact with them. It's not a Christian thing at all.

On the contrary, I think it releases people to realize that it’s just an attraction, not something that needs to define them. We’re all attracted to sinful things. Doesn’t mean that has to be our driving force in life.

I love how you wanna speak like the expert regarding ssa when the way you type about it and its solution shows that you have a shallow understanding of SSA. SSA isn’t just some temporary abnormality, at least for most people. It’s something, that oftentimes, is deeply seated in a person. For example, I knew I had same sex attraction since I was in the 2nd grade. That was when I was aware of it. I didn’t feel shame. I clearly remember crushing a kid my age and being really shy when around him. It was a striking feeling that simply surged in me. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was living my innocent life without a care in the world. So how is it that this perversion of my sexuality was brought about by sin? Whose sin? My parents’? My own? I had never sinned majorly at that time. I doubt my little sins would be enough for me to develop sexually broken as many people like to call it. And not to mention that throughout my childhood, I had little “homosensual” experiences with certain male friends after feeling that and strong healthy male friendships too. I had three male best friends who I never saw as anything but that. So it’s safe for me to say, that it’s been part of my psyche for as long as I can remember. And that doesn’t mean it has to stay this way. However, it’s easy for people like you (sorry for assuming but you haven’t identified this as a once personal struggle) who don’t struggle with to say “Overcome your attractions” than it is to actually overcome them. If you know, then how do you overcome them then? It’s beyond me. We all have different reasons, some in my case unknown, for why we like the same sex. For some, it’s not being able to relate in some way to one or both parents or even siblings. This can take many forms. Such as physical or mental parental abuse/trauma (be it maternal, paternal, or even both, abuse from a trusted adult or even another peer/kid (usually incestuous but can also be non incestuous). Or simply not feeling truly loved or cared for by one’s parents or your siblings, which allows a young psyche to desire same sex intimacy, which can turn to SSA. For others, it’s difficulty relating with other males (usually this one overlaps with other potential causes or is a symptom). Or it could be from probably being emasculated all the time as a kid from peers, siblings, or parents, especially but not exclusively by female peers. Some people have it occur in them after developing a fetish in childhood associated with masculinity or after experimenting with members of the same sex as adults without a driving inclination. In others, it’s after watching homosexual porn or other forms of homosexual erotica. And for some, it’s mix of some, most or even all of the aforementioned causes. The list of possible causes or wounds goes on.. But we don’t have all day and I am not a psychoanalyst either. Those are just some that I have heard about or seen. Not to say that all of these automatically mean same sex attraction but if anything, it’s to point out that this issue is as complex as every issue that has to do with the human soul/psyche is. Furthermore, if a person with homosexual tendencies sexualizes intimacy, it’s because they are experiencing desire like a normal healthy human. They aren’t asexual. It’s not necessarily a confusion of sorts. It can be. When it comes to this issue, there are no absolutes. Everyone has to stop speaking as though there are. By absolutes, I mean when trying to figure out the causes of this sexual condition. And finally, it is rare to find someone who struggles with SSA and is an active Christian that believes God made them this way. Or else, they wouldn’t be struggling.

But too bad Brett isn’t Catholic and doesn’t seem to even have Catholic values

Meet cute!!! love it

Yes but if it ever happened we viewers must all be very very quiet. Nothing kills a potential romance more quickly than a cheer squad giggling and cheering on the sidelines.

Is Brett Cooper Catholic?

This is like the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon but with PWA and Brett Cooper lol

He didn't invalidate them. He was saying the more publicly shameful sins are ones we are more interested in getting council on. Whereas gluttony with food or cursing at traffic lights, we are rarely invited to dig deeper into ourselves because they aren't as publicly shameful. He did not dismiss them. In fact, in the same breath, Matt said to dig deeper into those and ask WHY you're doing what you're doing.

@sharptakes1662 yes I remember the comment, but i interpreted that as him saying that there is a greater deviance lying below resulting in this smaller one. Any way, that's the way I heard it

@@bobgriffin8306 No worries. There is! That is what he is pointing at. I wouldn't describe it as a greater deviance, but a greater healing. Even our small sins come from somewhere. And God can heal us from that. We can't think the sin is so small that we shouldn't invite God in.