Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay

Daniel C. Mattson, author of the new book “Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace” will discuss his personal journey to and from a gay identity and detail the importance for the Church to have a prophetic role in the world in reclaiming sexual reality. 

His talk will focus on the lessons he’s learned as a Prodigal Son who has returned home to his Father’s house, as well as the importance for the Church to have a prophetic role in the world in reclaiming sexual reality. A key focus of Mattson’s book and his work is that the words we use matter. Mattson will discuss why he believes that the current lexicon of LGBTQIA sexual identities does injury both to God and man and reflect an abuse of language, designed to undermine the creative wisdom of God. In a religion rooted in the Logos, the Word made flesh, Mattson believes we must reflect the nature of created reality in the words we use. For Mattson, this means the only words that are objectively true–and therefore helpful–are the Words Christ said while he walked among us, incarnate as a man, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female?'”

Book signing and reception to follow event.

About the Author:

Daniel C. Mattson is a writer and a public speaker who proclaims the Good News of the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality. His story is told in the award-winning documentary Desire of the Everlasting Hills, produced by the Courage Apostolate (everlastinghills.org) His writing has appeared in Communio, First Things, The National Catholic Register, andCrisis Magazine, among others. He is a frequent guest on Catholic radio and has appeared several times on EWTN. A professional orchestral trombone player, Mattson has performed and presented master classes around the world, including at the famed St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia.

Reviews:

“I encourage many to read the following testimonial, which… bears witness to the mercy and goodness of God, to the efficacy of his grace, and to the veracity of the teachings of his Church.”
— Cardinal Robert Sarah, from the Foreword; Author, God or Nothing

“Daniel Mattson has written an honest account of the genuine struggles faced by those with same-sex attraction. Drawing upon a wealth of spiritual insights and wisdom from across our deep Catholic tradition, he shares with us how he has come to understand and accept God’s loving plan for his life, as well as the beauty and richness of the Church’s teachings on chastity. The tenderness and mercy of God is evident throughout and is a powerful reminder for all of us!”
— Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York

“This powerful book reminds us that we need to accompany our brothers and sisters in their struggles with compassion and love, patience and understanding. I pray that this book will help many to discover God’s love and to find happiness in following Jesus Christ and his beautiful plan for creation and our lives.”
—Most Reverend José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles

“Dan Mattson is a profile in courage.  This profoundly moving story of his experience of same sex attraction and his reflections on the hard-won truth that those attractions do not define him mark a way forward for others.  I highly recommend this memoir to pastoral ministers accompanying our brothers and sisters in similar circumstances.”
— Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, GCIH OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston