The Other Brother

  AMDG “I will go after my lovers,” she said, “who will give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.” She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold that they used for Baal. Therefore, I will now allure her, and lead her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. On that day, says the LORD, you shall call me, “My husband,” and no longer will you call me “My Baal (my master).” -Hosea 2:5, 8, 14, 16   I, a new man, to my siblings in Christ: may the abundant peace of God fill your hearts. I am home from my long retreat, as are (I hope) the 17 others who journeyed with me. Although I cannot and have no desire to explain everything that God revealed to me or all the graces w...

 AMDG I, a man healed by the grace of God and yet found unclean, to you, my beloved brothers and sisters, especially any who I may not know. I write to you about two things. First, to share some of the thoughts emotions I’ve processed over the last two or three months. My purpose is only to share, so that those who do not share my vantage point may know something of what it is like to stand where I stand. Second, I want to call out the presence of the devil among us, and stand defiantly against it. This post may be a little darker than what I usually share… but it is honest. That is all, I suppose, I have to give. On April 8, 2024, the Vatican released a declaration called Dignitas Infinita . You can read it here . It reads like a commemorative address celebrating 50 years since the United Nations published the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , discussing the anthropology and concept of human dignity before going on to touch on 13 contemporary, “specific and grave violati...

  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...