Dating Advice for Young Catholic Men, by Randall Smith

By Randall Smith,  The Catholic Thing, September 2, 2025

Randall B. Smith is a Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His latest book is From Here to Eternity: Reflections on Death, Immortality, and the Resurrection of the Body.

Imagine you are applying for a highly competitive job, and someone says, “I can tell you how to be more competitive than 98 percent of the other applicants.”  Would you be interested?

Let’s say he adds: “It’s not hard, but you may not like it.”  Perhaps it’s something like wearing a coat and tie to your interview, and you hate wearing a coat and tie.  I’m with you on that, but if you really want the job, wouldn’t you make that little extra effort?  Or would you complain? “Why should I wear a coat and tie?  Coats and ties are stupid!  If they want a coat and tie, the heck with them.”

Now again, I’m with you on the coat and tie thing, but really?  Do you want the job or not?  If not, fine.  But don’t whine about not having a job or how life is so unfair. …