The Other Brother

  AMDG I, your brother in Christ, to you, my brothers and sisters at home and scattered abroad. Grace and peace. I visited Vatican City once, ten years ago, and I remember St. Peter’s Square. I remember looking up at the rooftop encircling me and seeing the statues of saints evenly spaced. It was uplifting to feel surrounded by these holy men and women who preceded me. Occasionally in church we read or sing a whole litany of saints. At the right frequency it invokes a sense of solidarity stretching over the millennia and every corner of the world. Back when I was convicted of my desire to join religious life and planned to tell the vocations director that I was transgender, I began praying a litany of saints every night, asking for their intercession. It was a conglomeration of all the Jesuit saints and blesseds and personal write-ins, to which I’ve continued to add. In advance of All Saints and All Souls Days coming up, I share a few particular, favorite saints: Saints Fra...

 AMDG I, one swept up in the tumult of a busy life, to you, my fellow swept up, busy people. Greetings amidst the dust and the chaos. I hardly sat down to write in September. My Sunday mornings were spent recovering from putting down one of my cats, meeting a friend for a mass in his language, and writing to my bishop since he told me to “keep in touch” (Dear Your Excellency… I hope you have been enjoying the fine weather). While I don’t like the strain of having so much to do that I have to neglect things I like, I do find a satisfaction in seeing so many wheels turning. I am a visual person, so imagine this with me: I have a front “porch” consisting of concrete steps and an awning with just enough room on either side of the front door to leave a patio chair. I sit there a lot during work, especially on cool days when the afternoon sun feels good. Right next to the steps I have canna lilies, which are tall plants bearing large, bright red flowers. Occasionally hummingbirds wil...