Legion of Young Men
l/youngmen
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About
Men need brothers to sharpen and grow, older brothers for guidance, younger brothers to guide, and brothers in arms to fight the spiritual battle side by side. We don't have to do it alone. Let's get each other to heaven. No man left behind. Let us be strengthened and guided by the Holy spirit, along with the intercession and example of St Joseph, let's strive to be like him in this modern world. Ave Cristus Rex.
Leadership
Student Researcher · Milan, Italy
I'm Joseph, a Catholic living in Milan, originally from Madras. I'm an engineer, studying further at PoliMi, currently working on my research, hoping to graduate soon & start work. I love motors & anything it powers: bikes, planes, cars; I like the outdoors & nature, music, history, how things work, literature & Above all: God. I attend mass daily & access the sacraments, journal & write, go for runs, pray the rosary regularly & have a special devotion to St. Joseph & St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.
@joseph_noel_kirenSep 2, 2026Action cures anxiety (an excerpt from Catholic Manhood substack)
Worrying Doesn’t Work. Do This Instead Sep 02, 2026 This past Sunday, our deacon gave a homily regarding God and Mammon. Some of his words have stayed with me through the week and I wish to unpack them here. He said something to the effect that men who are inclined to control their environment, view the uncertainties of life as a threat, not simply an inconvenience. Throughout my life, I have very much fallen into this camp. I have viewed such uncertainties as something to be managed meticulously. Those uncertainties must be planned around, worried into submission and eliminated. The homily’s main message (or perhaps simply what I drew from it) was the same question Christ asked on the mount in so many words. “How’s that working for you?” In truth, it is not working and has never worked for anyone. You Cannot Worry Your Way to Peace Christ didn’t say worry was simply unpleasant. He said it was utterly useless. “And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit?” - Matthew 6:27 To put this into perspective, no man, in the history of the world has ever extended life, solved his problem, protected his family or improved his circumstances in any way by worrying. Worrying is simply an illusion of control. You may feel like you are doing something productive, but ultimately it accomplishes nothing and frankly, usually it weakens your body too. Sitting down, worrying about every catastrophe that could befall you is not the same as preparing for your future. Worrying is simply unchristian. I have had to come to grips with this myself and only now am I beginning to accept it. For the good of your body, mind and soul, you cannot steal from the present by borrowing misery from tomorrow that may or may not even take place. That thing you have spent the last few days, or weeks afraid of either does not come to pass or it comes at you in an extremely different manner than you feared. And yet, you survived; you have no other option right? It’s a Control Problem: Small distinction, but an important one; the need to fully control your environment doesn’t make you a strong man, it confirms your weaknesses. You are frightened, not in control. A need of control does not come from confidence, it comes from the absence of trust. This is why I maintain that worry, even though I am a man impacted by such thoughts, is unchristian. To worry means to subconsciously say to oneself that God cannot be relied upon. A man tries to be a god and wonders where the exhaustion is stemming from. To be fair, there are things within our control and things outside of it. Just because something is outside of your control does not mean it is outside of God’s. Whatever you may think in the moment, God is not indifferent to your situation. The Church teaches this. God is a Father. He knows all the hairs on our head. Worry is not the answer and never has been. It has always been trust in God. The saints lived in the real life circumstances of their time and faced real suffering, in much worse physical conditions than what we enjoy today. They all arrived at the same conclusions about worrying. When a man’s heart is in unsettled over things outside of his control, the room for God in it shrinks. Such worry chokes out prayer. How can we hear His voice when our hearts are not quiet enough to listen? Padre Pio’s famous quote was not “Pray and manage your anxiety.” Pray. Hope. Don’t worry. Creature Comforts Men, the Cross was not comfortable. Christ did not promise us comfort. In fact, he promised exactly the opposite. This is what you signed up for. Christ promised them a cross of their own and if carried, a crown. The servant is not greater than the Master and our Master was crucified. If we build our interior life around the avoidance of discomfort and uncertainty, that house is built on sand. Suffering will definitely come to us all, it is unavoidable. Worrying is incompatible with our Faith. As Catholic men, we are not called to live a comfortable life, we are called to a holy one. We were made for greatness. The Cross was certainly not comfortable. What makes you think we are supposed to be? I do not mean to sound callous or unsympathetic. I am simply trying to add clarity. We have to make peace with the fact that our lives will include suffering and things that are outside of our control. With this clarity, man is free. A man should act and lead. To embody those actions, a man does those in times of suffering and uncertainty. What a man cannot do is be paralyzed by fear and worry. A man of God is not passive, but one who understands which battles to fight for God and which ones God will fight for him. The Catholic man serves God and God has told us in plain language that worry is useless. Trust in Him is truly the only thing that actually works. Nick | Catholic Manhood
@joseph_noel_kirenAug 13, 2026Theosis: the true purpose of human life
(Good day brothers, praised be Jesus Christ, its been a long time. I came across an article that was very inspiring and decided to share it, wisdom from our Eastern orthodox brethren, I don't know exactly if the teaching is acceptable in catholic thought however this felt very relatable to me and other young men who fall trap of pursuing holiness through the trap of "virtue maxxing" the idea that the devil uses your good and righteous desire to be holy against you by giving you scruples and keeping you fixated on what you lack and this way keeping you from participating in the work of the Kingdom with your fullness (a form of sub conscious idolatry) , I hope the following article helps you men as well, so without further ado:) > << When you put yourself at the center, trying to improve every aspect of life through health, wealth, looks maxxing and more... You move away from your higher purpose. Today this is seen everywhere, especially on Instagram where lifestyle influencers present lives that look perfect, as if they have upgraded every detail through 'self-improvement'. Yet many are miserable, while others look to them as idols. This idea of "self-improvement", which has captured man's attention and stripped him of real purpose, comes from Western thought that goes back centuries at the dawn of humanism (a.k.a moving away from Christ as center to "self-improvement"). The highest ideal became moral improvement, placing man as an individual at the center, forgetting the truth of scripture: "God created man in His image and likeness." (Gen 1:27) This means that He wishes us to be like Himself by grace. Elder George says: "If man cannot be deified through divine grace and the divine energies, what purpose does his life have? Merely to become morally better? But moral perfection is not enough for man... Our ultimate aim is to be united with God Himself... this is what we desire. This is our joy, our happiness, and our fulfillment." Therefore, we must rid ourselves of egocentric living, where we think we are the whole purpose and rely only on our own efforts. Instead, we turn to the Theanthropos, the God-Man Christ, who is the true center. The- meaning "God" & anthropos- meaning "man". At Once we see that "the center of the world is not yourself, but Christ," the path to theosis begins in humility, the first condition towards divinization (YOUR TRUE PURPOSE). Elder George also says: "If he is not on the path of theosis, he feels emptiness within himself; he feels that something is not going right." In turn, This emptiness is often hidden beneath self-centered activities that claim to improve life, but in truth only mask unhappiness. inspired from "Theosis: the true purpose of human life" by Archimandrite George Kapsanis of Blessed Memory
@joseph_noel_kirenJul 2, 2026Confessions (Book 2, Chapter 2)
Greetings brothers, May the peace of Christ be with you. In the second book of the confessions, St Augustine looks back at his teenage self, and with the clarity given to him by the Spirit, he is able to identify the core of all the brokenness, which was a primary desire to love and be loved, twisted by the machinations of the Evil one... A situation most of us are aware about and have experienced. Without further ado here it is: _"My primary desire was simply to love and to be loved. Yet, I possessed no sense of balance. I failed to distinguish between the bright, steady light of noble friendship and the dark, murky vapors of physical craving. Both surged within me, clashing in confusion, pulling my vulnerable youth into the jagged terrain of unbridled lust until I was lost in a desert of my own making. I was deaf to the truth, silenced by the clanking chains of my own mortality—the weight of a pride that refused to yield. I wandered further and further from You, and in Your patience, You allowed it. I was tossed about, spent, spilled out, and set to boiling by the heat of my own cravings. My beauty withered, and I became repulsive in Your sight, yet I remained obsessed with appearing attractive in the eyes of others. What I wanted was to love, and to be loved, but I looked for it in the wrong places. I, a fool, seethed like a turbulent sea, abandoning You to chase the violent currents of my own making. I crossed all the boundaries You had set for my own protection, not because I found satisfaction in the transgression, but because I was desperate to find in the chaos of the world the peace that is only found in You."_ ~St Augustine, Confessions, book 2, chapter 2 (The language was a bit old and hard to comprehend so I asked AI to give a mildly rendered version so that all can understand without hassle, I proof read it, don't worry)
@joseph_noel_kirenJun 22, 2026To become a tool
Good day & Deo Vobiscum my brothers, today we will see another beautiful quote (Not exactly St Augustine, though it's often attributed to him- it essentially encapsulates the lament of book 10 of the confessions, from the previous post). "To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement." Fall in love with Him > seek Him> find Him and repeat 🔁... We have Romance+ Adventure+Achievement all rolled up in one... To find the hand and work of God in every situation and trial, we need to first love Him and actively seek Him and His Will. One step at a time, one conscious decision made out of love of God, and it can be as easy as smiling at the tram driver and thanking him before you get off, you may not know but he probably needed that more than you know, and to them that was proof of the love of God. Let's strive brothers, whenever the spirit inspires us and keep ourselves open to his inspiration, let us then become tools in His hands.
@joseph_noel_kirenJun 18, 2026Confessions 2
Deo Vobiscum, God be with you my brothers, Today we will follow up on the previous post about restless hearts from Book 1 of Confessions- jumping directly to Book 10, if the previous was a "wake-up call" in the life of the Saint this one was a lament for all the years he spent pointed outward and seeking satisfaction and fulfilment from created things, this passage is beautiful in the way that he uses human senses to describe his yearning for the Love and Fulfilment that only God can provide. Without further ado here goes: "Belatedly have I loved thee, O beauty so ancient yet so new: late have I loved thee, And see, you were within yet I was in the external world and sought you there, And in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made, You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I now hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours." ~St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions Book10
@krzysztof_2Jun 16, 2026Strive and Side Quests
Hello brothers, I was wondering if you tried out the Strive and Side Quests features of this app. I'm curious what you think of them and if you recommend? Personally I'm still wavering for some reason. God bless
@kianJun 15, 2026Confessions
Hello, brothers. Before I give you some encouragement from Confessions by Saint Augustine, I wanted to introduce him, we all know him by name, and many stories have been shared. How much do we know about his life, personally? I’ll keep this bit short and sweet, I’m fascinated by him, and his life. I think a lot of young men are, for obvious reasons. Saint Augustine was born in 354, in Thagaste, Algeria. He was born to a Christian mother (Saint Monica), and a pagan father. He converted roughly around 386 AD, at the age of 31, in Milan. He was baptised by Bishop Ambrose, in around 387 AD. Like a lot of young men, he struggled with things of this world, and a very good quote, well known, too, comes from Confessions. The quote reads: “I had prayed to you for chastity and said ‘Give me chastity and continence, but not yet’. For I was afraid you would answer my prayer at once and cure me too soon of the disease of lust, which I wanted satisfied, not quelled”. This quote shows St Augustine of Hippo’s struggle with lust. He was torn, divided in wills, the want to be released, but equally, the want to remain in this sin for a little longer. Augustine was saying: "Yes, Lord, transform me—but let me have a little more time with my passions first.". This is something all of us have struggled with at some point. It can be any sin, that pulls us away from God. Saint Augustine was no different. Easy for us to say when we’re not in this state, but no sin is worth being taken away from God, no matter how good or fun it feels at the time. It is humbling to see a Saint struggle with the same things as us, and I hope encourages us all to remember that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future (this is also attributed to him, but unsure of the source currently!). Saint Augustine, pray for us! God bless you all, may the Lord guide our steps, hearts and minds to let go of anything stopping us from saying “Yes!” to Him.
@joseph_noel_kirenJun 15, 2026St. Augustine (confessions) 1
Praise God my dear brothers in Christ, today we will begin by contemplating a beautiful (my favourite) quote from Confessions. "Quia fecisti nos ad Te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in Te." "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until it rests in You." Now rephrase and address God directly: You have made me for yourself, my Jesus and my heart is restless until it finds its rest in You... So give my restless heart rest; I beg you; and show me what it is I must do and give me the strength to carry it out. Remind yourself of this quote as often as you can, know that He knows you completely even better than you know yourself. And every time turbulence hits your heart and unsettles it, making it restless, repeat it in your heart. Deo Vobiscum God be with you Ave Cristus Rex.
@joseph_noel_kirenJun 14, 2026St. Augustine 1
God be with you, Deus vobiscum, and warm greetings my dear brothers. St. Augustine was a brilliant and accomplished guy, an impressive man in all respects, yet lived in the world, in sin, but through it all he was searching, yearning, burning even, for true fulfillment... He sook it from women, from rhetoric, from prestige and status, but all of them fell short... When he was in Milan one afternoon he encountered, touched and was convicted so powerfully by the true fulfillment, Love itself; a conviction so powerful that it triggered what according to me was the most impactful conversion in Christian history, this man would go on to become a Saint and Church Father and influence Christian thought for all time to come. We will read from and contemplate deeply on his writings in the following days, particularly focussing on his work titled: Confessions.
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