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<div style="padding-left:40px;">&mdash; Daniel Mattson<ref name="LifeSiteNews12062017"/></div>

<div style="padding-left:40px;">&mdash; Daniel Mattson<ref name="LifeSiteNews12062017"/></div>

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'''Daniel Mattson''' once believed he was [[gay]] yet he found himself bereft until he turned to [[Christ]] and accepted his true [[personal identity|identity]] as a man. By reclaiming his sexual reality, he found peace and a ministry to others with [[same-sex attraction]] ('''SSA'''). Now is considered to be a gifted writer and poet, an inspirational [[evangelist]] and an ambassador for [[Christ]]. Dan is a longtime member of [[Courage (apostolate)|Courage]], a worldwide [[Catholic]] apostolate ministering to persons with SSA.<ref name="LifeSiteNews12062017">{{cite web |title=‘Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay’: A same-sex-attracted Catholic tells his story |publisher=LifeSiteNews |date=12 Jun 2017 |url=https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/why-i-dont-call-myself-gay-a-same-sex-attracted-catholic-tells-his-story |quote=His book, beginning with its title, would appear to be his “charitable challenge” to the infiltration of foreign ideologies into the Church.  A master craftsman, Mattson builds a strong bulwark of truth against lies creeping into the Church. Dan makes it abundantly clear that the Church has a positive, life-giving message for those of us who live with SSA.   Mattson speaks of the “empty promises of coming out” that “leads to a belief in what is ultimately an unreal condition — it paints a false image of the human person and traps people into sexual identities that are disconnected with reality.” Mattson rejects sentimentality, which misleads so many gays and their supporters, and instead, like a laser, he focuses exclusively on known truth. |accessdate=29 Aug 2017}}</ref>  

'''Daniel C. Mattson''' once believed he was [[gay]] yet he found himself bereft until he turned to [[Christ]] and accepted his true [[personal identity|identity]] as a man. By reclaiming his sexual reality, he found peace and a ministry to others with [[same-sex attraction]] ('''SSA'''). Now is considered to be a gifted writer and poet, an inspirational [[evangelist]] and an ambassador for [[Christ]]. Dan is a longtime member of [[Courage (apostolate)|Courage]], a worldwide [[Catholic]] apostolate ministering to persons with [[Same-sex attraction|SSA]].<ref name="LifeSiteNews12062017">{{cite web |title=‘Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay’: A same-sex-attracted Catholic tells his story |publisher=LifeSiteNews |date=12 Jun 2017 |url=https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/why-i-dont-call-myself-gay-a-same-sex-attracted-catholic-tells-his-story |quote=His book, beginning with its title, would appear to be his “charitable challenge” to the infiltration of foreign ideologies into the Church.  A master craftsman, Mattson builds a strong bulwark of truth against lies creeping into the Church. Dan makes it abundantly clear that the Church has a positive, life-giving message for those of us who live with SSA. Mattson speaks of the “empty promises of coming out” that “leads to a belief in what is ultimately an unreal condition — it paints a false image of the human person and traps people into sexual identities that are disconnected with reality.” Mattson rejects sentimentality, which misleads so many gays and their supporters, and instead, like a laser, he focuses exclusively on known truth. |accessdate=29 Aug 2017}}</ref> As a public speaker, he proclaims the [[Good News]] of the [[Catholic Church]]'s teaching on [[homosexuality]] and from time to time, he is invited to give his personal testimony to groups around the country. His story is told in the award-winning documentary ''Desire of the Everlasting Hills''. A professional [[orchestra]]l [[trombone]] player, Mattson has performed and presented master classes around the world, including at the famed [[St. Petersburg]] Conservatory in [[Russia]]. He also blogs under a pseudonym at ''LettersToChristopher.wordpress.com''.

 

==Life==

==Life==

==Publications==

==Publications==

*''Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace'': In this frank memoir, Mattson chronicles his journey to and from a [[gay identity]], finding peace in his true identity, as a man, made in the image and likeness of God. Part autobiography, part philosophy of life, and part a practical guide in living chastely, the book draws lessons from Mattson's search for inner freedom and integrity, sharing wisdom from his failures and successes. His lifelong search for happiness and peace comes full circle in his realization that, above all else, what is true about him is that he is a beloved son of God, loved into existence by God, created for happiness in this life and the next. Mattson's book is for anyone who has ever wondered who he is, why he is here, and, in the face of suffering, where to find joy, happiness, and the peace that surpasses all understanding.<ref name="Mattson2017">{{cite book |title=Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace |author=Daniel Mattson |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-62164-072-1 |url=https://www.ignatius.com/Products/WMGC-P/why-i-dont-call-myself-gay.aspx}}</ref> Mattson skillfully addresses two enormous issues facing the Church at this critical moment history:  

*Mattson first began writing about [[faith]] and [[homosexuality]] in 2012 in an article for ''First Things'' called "''Why I Don't Call Myself a Gay Christian''".<ref>{{cite web |title=Why I Don't Call Myself a Gay Christian |author=Daniel C. Mattson |publisher=First Things |date=27 Jul 2017 |url=https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2012/07/why-i-dont-call-myself-a-gay-christian |accessdate=12 Oct 2017}}</ref>

*In his 2017 frank memoir ''Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace'', Mattson chronicles his journey to and from a [[gay identity]], finding peace in his true identity, as a man, made in the image and likeness of [[God]]. Part autobiography, part philosophy of life, and part a practical guide in living [[Chastity|chastely]], the book draws lessons from Mattson's search for inner [[freedom]] and [[integrity]], sharing wisdom from his failures and successes. His lifelong search for [[happiness]] and peace comes full circle in his realization that, above all else, what is true about him is that he is a beloved son of God, loved into existence by God, created for happiness in this life and the next. Mattson's book is for anyone who has ever wondered who he is, why he is here, and, in the face of suffering, where to find joy, happiness, and the peace that surpasses all understanding.<ref name="Mattson2017">{{cite book |title=Why I Don't Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace |author=Daniel Mattson |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-62164-072-1 |url=https://www.ignatius.com/Products/WMGC-P/why-i-dont-call-myself-gay.aspx}}</ref> Mattson skillfully addresses two enormous issues facing the Church at this critical moment of history:  

** First, some SSA Catholics seek not to reject “gay” identity but to cherish and enshrine their “gayness” as a personal identity beyond male or female. They are proud to simultaneously call themselves “Gay and Catholic,” abandoning Church teaching that homoerotic desire is intrinsically disordered. Though chaste, they prefer to celebrate being “gay” and to divine special gifts from it.  

** First, some SSA Catholics seek not to reject “gay” identity but to cherish and enshrine their “gayness” as a personal identity beyond male or female. They are proud to simultaneously call themselves “Gay and Catholic,” abandoning Church teaching that homoerotic desire is intrinsically disordered. Though chaste, they prefer to celebrate being “gay” and to divine special gifts from it.  

**Second, a growing number of priests and prelates now challenge the Church’s genuine understanding of the human person and of human sexuality. Some of these go further than embracing chaste “gay identity” and flirt with the notion that active homosexuality should be recognized as a valid way of life within the Church.<ref name="LifeSiteNews12062017"/>

**Second, a growing number of priests and prelates now challenge the Church’s genuine understanding of the human person and of human sexuality. Some of these go further than embracing chaste “gay identity” and flirt with the notion that active homosexuality should be recognized as a valid way of life within the Church.<ref name="LifeSiteNews12062017"/>