Afternoon gents, it’s Max from the Young Gentleman’s Guide here! Today’s article will more or less be a continuation of this one that I put out a while ago about four historical figures that every gentleman should look up to. Today, we’ll be looking at a very specific type of historical figure, those canonized as saints by the Catholic Church. These are individuals who demonstrated a strong and ardent faith in life through acts of service, so much so that they’ve started to be viewed as holy by the Catholic Church. These acts of service can range from worldwide peacekeeping efforts, to countrywide missionary campaigns, to honorable military service, to mass distribution of the Sacraments. These are individuals whose life examples continue to be followed by those practicing and even not practicing the Catholic faith today. So without further delay, let’s get started!
Category: Gentlemanly Figureheads
Afternoon gents, it’s Max from the Young Gentleman’s Guide here! In today’s article, we’re going to take a look at major historical figures that set standards of masculinity, stoicism, chivalry, or any combination of those things and talk about why young gentlemen everywhere should look up to them. There’s certainly no shortage of such figures throughout history, but since we only have so much time, I’ll just keep it limited to four (4). There’s not really much else that needs to be said as far as the intro is concerned, so let’s go ahead and get started!
Afternoon gents, it’s Max from the Young Gentleman’s Guide here! The inspiration for today’s article is actually twofold. The first is that it’s been almost a year since my grandfather passed away. Those of you who know me personally may already know this, but I never really made that big of a deal out of it since I was simply at a loss for words after it happened. Since the passage of time after it happened, however, I feel like it would be a good time to put out yet another tribute to a man who has inspired not only myself, but virtually everybody he came across. The second is this article that my sister wrote as a tribute to my grandfather shortly after he passed (the link is no longer there since the article has since been deleted). If you want to get a better sense of what I’m going to say in this article, I would highly recommend reading hers first. So without any further delay, let’s see what my grandfather can teach many of you young gents!
Afternoon gents, it’s Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide here! So today, I’m going to get a bit more broad and general than most of my other articles, because today I’m going to talk about four (4) gentlemen who I believe are the best role models for any young gentlemen to look up to. These can be celebrities, historical figures, other online creators like myself, or anything in between. I thought this would be a fun list to make because these are, more or less, the gentlemen who have inspired me the most, and I thought they would help inspire you young gents reading this. So without any further ado, let’s get started!
1. Brett McKay
This man is actually the reason I’m even writing this blog at all! Brett McKay is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Art of Manliness, the largest independent men’s lifestyle magazine on the web. He was the first to truly introduce me to the men’s lifestyle that I write about today thanks to the book my godmother got me when I was in high school that was actually a giant compilation of a bunch of his articles. In any case, this guy has a lot of stuff to say about being a gentleman, from fashion to etiquette and beyond. He has the answer to pretty much any question that a young gentleman may have, so please be sure to check him out!
2. Theodore Roosevelt
Our nation’s 26th president of course had to be on the list! I actually wrote an article that goes into much more depth about Teddy over on the Classy Libertarian, so be sure to check it out right here if you’re interested. But in short, if you had to tell me who the personification of the word “masculine” would be, I would probably say Teddy Roosevelt. Not only was he a very friendly and charismatic leader and politician, but he was also a hunter, an outdoorsman, an explorer, a mountain climber, a boxer, and a naturalist. It’s mostly thanks to him that we have the National Parks that we all know and love today. He’s a part of Mt. Rushmore for a very good reason.
3. Chris Pratt
As weird as it might be to see a Hollywood celebrity on this list, Chris Pratt is somewhat of an oddball in Hollywood. He is definitely more right-leaning than a lot of other Hollywood actors are, and while I’m not here to tell you which way to lean politically, it’s certainly refreshing to see in a world as largely left-leaning as Hollywood. He is also openly religious, making it a point to say that God is real during his acceptance speech at the MTV music awards. Even after the recent controversy surrounding his faith arose a couple weeks ago, Pratt still stood his ground and continued to stand up for what he believes in. On top of this, those who follow him on social media know that he is a real family man. Even after he and his wife Anna Faris split up, he still does whatever is necessary to provide for himself, his son, and his now fiance, Katherine Schwarzenegger. Such things involve hunting and farming (yes, this guy is a farmer). In short, Chris Pratt is a very reverent family man who stands up for himself and his beliefs, is an avid hunter, and a working farmer to help provide for his family. If that isn’t an admirable role model for young gentlemen today, I don’t know what is.
4. Glenn Miller
This is another guy whom I’ve written an article about before, which you can check out right here if you want some more details. In short, this bandleader was, another personification of what a true gentleman should be. Coming from rather humble beginnings, he had a vision of creating his own musical sound, and stopped at nothing in order to find it. After becoming a hit, he didn’t simply use his music as a means of making money, though he did certainly make money from his music. More importantly, he used his music as a way to help people, particularly the Allies fighting as World War II. After being drafted into the war effort, Miller started using his music as a way to build morale for the allies on the battlefield. He used it as a way to keep their spirits up when morale was at an all-time low, something that would be extremely important back when the average soldier was the American everyman. That’s what made Miller such an admirable gentleman. He used his art as a way to help the little guy and remind him of home, he didn’t just do it as a way to achieve money or fame.
So there it is! Four (4) gentlemen who I believe are the best role models for young gentlemen to look up to. I’m more than positive that there are much more gents like this out there, so if you’d like to see some more lists like this, please let me know, this was a fun list to make! In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share the article, follow the blog, follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!
Afternoon gents, it’s Max from the Young Gentleman’s Guide here! Before we begin, I’d like to address the obvious: this article will most likely come off as extremely biased, because I am a devout Catholic and will be very partial to the words of a bishop. Just know going in that I don’t mean for it to come across that way. I’ve heard Bishop Barron speak quite a few times, whether in person or on video, and I believe he has a lot of great things to say, even things not pertaining to religion. So I’ll try to stay as objective as possible and just share why the auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara is a great figure for young men to look up to, even if you’re not religious. So before this article turns into a full-length novel, let’s get started!
1. He is incredibly well-spoken
Any of you reading who have heard Bishop Barron speak probably already know this, but for those of you who haven’t, you should know that this guy is extremely eloquent. He may actually be one of the great orators of our generation. He always knows exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to deliver it. The way he speaks is also very sophisticated. When he starts speaking, he has no flubs; no “ums” or “uhs” or anything. He gets straight to the point and does whatever it takes to stick to that point. It actually reminds me of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, but I’m getting off-topic. The point is, Bishop Barron is incredibly well-spoken, and his eloquence is more than enough for any young man to look up to.
2. He’s smart, but not arrogant
Another thing that’s fairly obvious to those of us who have heard Bishop Barron speak is that he is incredibly smart. He is incredibly well-versed in theology, philosophy, science, and sociology, and he incorporates all of that into his sermons and his teachings. That being said, he is also incredibly humble, which baffles both me and my father, who looks up to Bishop Barron even more than I do. Bishop Barron obviously doesn’t know everything, and he isn’t the arbiter of all things right and wrong, but he never claims to. All he wants to do is offer his point of view and help give people clearer views on the Catholic tradition. Yes, he is inordinately smart and believes what he’s saying is right, but he doesn’t claim to know everything or try to force his beliefs on anybody. He knows that there is a fine line between being confident and being arrogant, and Bishop Barron knows not to cross it at any point.
3. He never backs down from what he believes in
It’s clear that as a bishop, Bishop Barron believes in and defends the teachings of Jesus Christ and his apostles, but as I said before, he doesn’t try to force those beliefs down everyone’s throats like how most of the mainstream views most Christians. However, even though he doesn’t do that, he still does not waver from his beliefs in the slightest. He only uses his faith to as a force of good in the world, and even though he might have his fair share of haters or naysayers, he only uses them as motivation to further strengthen his faith and continue to spread friendship, love, and tolerance.
4. Quotations
While this may not be a specific reason as to why Bishop Barron is a great man to look up to, I thought it would be a good idea to list some of the things he’s said in the past to display how smart and eloquent he is. (Here’s a link to show I’m not BS’ing any of this)
“Meek – free from the addiction to ordinary power – you can become a conduit of true divine power to the world.”
“In the Dei Verbum, there is a great statement of Vatican II: The bible is the word of God but in the words of men.”
“The English word sin is derived from the German term Sünde, which carries the connotation of sundering or dividing.”
“If we really want to change the current course of our culture and challenge its guiding ideas, then we need to start with the author of that culture. That means examining man himself.”
“At a certain point in American history, nobody would have imagined the possibility of slavery being overturned. Very smart people, very morally plugged-in people, were defenders of slavery in 1830, 1840, including Christians at a very high level. Politicians at the highest level didn’t think slavery could be overturned in 1820 or 1840, and yet now slavery is unthinkable. It’s the same with civil rights. In the 1930s and ’40s, a lot of very high-placed people, including religious people, wouldn’t have imagined the overturning of Jim Crow, but now it’s a fact.”
“Whatever threatens innocent life takes priority, morally speaking. Yes, I get the fact that people are especially preoccupied with abortion, but [the Church’s position] doesn’t mean we’re shills for the Republican Party. It means we’re trying to bring all of life under the aegis of radical love, but there’s a prioritization.”
So there it is! These are just a few of the ways that Bishop Robert Barron is a wonderful figurehead for young men to look up to, religious or not. With how well-spoken, intelligent, and humble he is, there is certainly a lot to admire about this man of the faith. Even if you’re not Catholic, or even religious, I encourage you to take a look at some if his videos, he has a myriad of wonderful things to say. I’ll link to a selection of some of my favorite videos from him down below. In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading today’s article. Please be sure to share the post, follow the blog, follow The Young Gentleman’s Guide on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and support us on Patreon. And on that note, this is Max from The Young Gentleman’s Guide, and I’ll see you next time!
Favorite Bishop Barron videos
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