In today’s Gospel, I see two key take-aways from the words of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist: One is a reminder that the promise of the Lord that he “that he would save us from our enemies and from the…
Tag Archive for Holy Spirit
Pope Francis, on Diversity and Harmony in the Catholic Orchestra.
Pope Francis describes the meaning of “Catholic” as including diversity, and specifically does not equate with uniformity. If the Catholic right has already been surprised by our new pope, following remarks during his in - flight press conference in July,…
How Quest is Promoting LGBT Catholic Integrity
I’ve already described why it is that LGBT Catholics need help and support in reconciling two important parts of their make - up, their Catholic faith and inherent affectional orientation. I have also outlined how the integration of our sexuality…
The Powerful Witness of a Catholic Gay Union.
“Witness” is the root of the very Catholic word, “martyr”. In this sense, we are all called to martyrdom. Joseph Gentilini’s “Hounded by God” is a powerful, moving example of of the witness demonstrated by one gay Catholic’s triumphant, faithful…
“He Sent Me to Give the Good News to the Queers”
For today, the third Sunday of ordinary time, the Gospel reading is the story of the Jesus’ first time reading in the temple, in the passage from Isaiah, with the keynote words, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because…
Congratulations to New Ways Ministry / “Bondings 2.0″
New Ways Ministry is an invaluable, inspirational gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Catholics, and reconciliation within the larger Christian and civil communities, originally set up by Sister Jeannine Gramick and Fr Robert Nugent, way…
A Strictly Personal Reflection
On Monday afternoon, I will be meeting up with the Jesuit Provincial, whom I happen to know personally, from my CLC days in Johannesburg, when I was the newly appointed regional co-ordinator for Johannesburg, and he was our newly appointed…
The British “Call to Action”: Continuing the Process
One day last month, while the Catholic bishops of the world continued their synod in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of Vatican II and the start of the year of faith, I joined something like 400 other English Catholics,…
The Pentecost Celebration of Diversity, and the Holy Spirit.
Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. (Ps 1o4) When I was a parishioner at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Johannesburg, a Pentecost tradition was to decorate the church with 12 large red banners,…
Young Gay Catholic Affirms: “And yet, I am still Catholic”.
At the end of 2011, Cardinal George’s intemperate remarks on “some gay activists” led to a lot of anger and hot air: anger by some queer activists and LGBT Catholics at his words, anger by some Catholics at the the…
