Preaching on Pride Can Be Fraught for LGBTQ+ People. But It Does Not Have to Be.

Yunuen Trujillo

A homily about pride can be a fraught experience for LGBTQ+ people given how often pride is framed as a sin and wielded against the community. But more positive examinations of pride can be fruitful, as one queer Catholic wrote about in U.S. Catholic.

Yunuen Trujillo, author of LGBTQ Catholics: A Guide to Inclusive Ministry, narrated her experience of a Mass during Pride Month last June. Invited by a friend, Trujillo’s trepidation about new churches led her to research the parish ahead of time about whether it was LGBTQ-friendly. All seemed well until a deacon began preaching on the “biggest sin,” namely pride, which he explained had led to the Fall in Eden.

Trujillo, who is also a Bondings 2.0 contributor, said the deacon preached extensively on pride and sin for more than 15 minutes. She worried:

“I couldn’t help but wonder where he was going with the homily. I feared his insistence on talking about pride was purposeful and related to the June festivities. I feared his sermon would end up in condemnation of the LGBTQ+ community. My heart pounded for 15 minutes, and my body activated an involuntary fight-or-flight stress response: ‘Should I stand up and leave? I really don’t need this today.'”

Fortunately, the deacon pivoted. Trujillo notes, “I still don’t know where he was going with the first part of his homily.” But, in the latter, half the deacon spoke of pride having a virtuous side that could be beneficial. Trujillo explained:

“Virtuous pride exists when there is a consciousness of one’s own dignity. It is a victory over the social and cultural forces that seek to make some people believe they are not worthy of God’s love because of belonging to a marginalized community. Godly pride is the celebration of a paradigm shift: ‘He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty’ (Luke 1:52–53).”

While the deacon never mentioned LGBTQ+ people, Trujillo drew the parallels between his words and the community’s embrace of virtuous pride, concluding:

“Similarly, when the LGBTQ+ community celebrates Pride, it celebrates the triumph of virtuous love and the recognition of our own God-given dignity, a triumph over the shame we have been told to embrace. We celebrate the small steps forward that allow our dignity to be reflected and appreciated in societal structures and our human rights to be respected.

“Years ago, a bishop told me, ‘There is no need to have LGBTQ+ groups. Jesus came for everyone; we all know that.’ The thing is, we don’t all know that. Efforts to exclude LGBTQ+ Catholics have been very specific for many years, so efforts to include will have to be equally specific, or more so. . .

“There is sacredness in inclusion, and it is OK to be proud.”

—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, September 12, 2024