Persisting Like the Widow: A Transgender Catholic’s Journey to Prayer
LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies might struggle with faith in the face of persistent injustice. I certainly did.
Michael Sennett (he/him/his) is the Director of Communications and Media Specialist at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill, MA. He has participated in LGBTQ+ ministry since 2014. In 2018, he received his undergraduate degree in communications with a minor in religious studies. Michael finds many joys in his faith and appreciates the testimonies of queer spirituality.
LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies might struggle with faith in the face of persistent injustice. I certainly did.
We need to share the flame with our neighbors, not to burn them but to kindle their own fire. Taper to taper, person to person
LGBTQ+ people, who in the face of oppression, have proven to be Good Samaritans to others.
The “glory days” are our daily lives, and the best is truly yet to come when we can rejoice with the Lord.
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned,” I nervously spoke to the priest sitting next to me. He nodded and waited for me to continue, but suddenly my tongue felt foreign in my mouth
A turning point came during my junior year of college, when my name was finally legally changed. To celebrate, my friends threw me a surprise party and everyone wore nametags that said “his name is Michael.”
LGBTQ+ Catholics encounter immense hostility, yet we remain faithful servants to the very Church that rejects us time and time again.
Why are people scandalized by the fact that LGBTQ+ people receive the grace of God?
If I had a quarter for every time someone questioned why I do not leave the Catholic Church, I would have a boatload of money. Being openly transgender and Catholic, folks from nearly every background have quizzed me about why I remain.
On this Fifth Sunday of Easter, Michael Sennett reflects on how do we answer Jesus’ call to move forward in the storm of COVID-19 and a church that fails to include LGBTQ people if we do not know the way?
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