How is homosexuality a choice?

[Draggar]

@ Orogeny -

People who are not religious get married. I’m not trying to treat it as a sacrament. I realize that I won’t be able to be sacramentally bound to another woman.

By unnatural, I mean, it is not possible for me to feel attracted to a man. It is simply not. Just as it would be impossible for someone who is heterosexual to suddenly become gay, I cannot even begin to imagine myself with a man.

And no, I’m not talking about acting out on attractions, exactly. I don’t think homosexuality is in the same realm as adultery.

 

[rwillenborg]

Thanks, everyone. And by the way, I’m a girl.

I know the whole thing about tendencies and attraction and being called to a chaste life. I’ve been here before and I know the whole “chaste or bust” deal. I guess I didn’t word my question right, but that’s okay. I get the rules, and the belief. I just don’t understand it. I can’t completely fathom the reasoning behind it. Thanks for trying to explain it.

I’ll admit - while I am chaste right now due to the fact that I don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t plan on staying that way forever. I understand that the homosexual behavior is a choice, but I do not understand why, if for all the wonderful things a person can do in their life, if they are homosexual and unchaste, they are put down so hard. If the “sin” of a homosexual act is something that you don’t personally understand as a sin, if you’re not going to just take peoples’ word for it, but you otherwise sin less than the average person… I just don’t get it. I mean, I have a strong relationship with God. I am very spiritual. I just feel like I am not being called to a life completely free of the “homosexual act”. I will find a single partner to stay with forever, and I’m not sorry to say that they will be a girl. I don’t understand how something that feels so natural could be shot down as “unnatural”. There are gay animals, for goodness’ sake. Nobody’s telling them to live a chaste life, or hurting them for not.

I just don’t get the reasoning. The concept is familiar to me and I’ve seen it repeated over and over here. Yes, the Church is fine with SSA. I know that.

Thank you. I’m trying to be as courteous as I can about this.

Thank you for clarifying your question.
If I am correct then, the question is not ‘How is homosexuality a choice?’, it is ‘Why does the church not accept homosexuality in the same light as heterosexuality?’ Am I right on this?

I think the terms ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ are misnomers in this context. Yes, there are gay animals. But since animals don’t have an immortal soul, I don’t really care if they are chaste or not, and neither does the church.

You also mention that you sin less than the average person. God doesn’t grade on a curve. I’m not sure how you would know how much your neighbors, friends, co-workers or the average person as it were, is sinning. I don’t think there is really something like a sin-o-meter which says who is sinning more. I would suspect that the reason you hear more about homosexual relationships than you do, say, the sin of missing Mass on Sunday is because the culture in which we live is abuzz with news of gay marriage, gay movie characters (The Kids Are All Right about a lesbian couple already has Oscar buzz after all), and gay music stars (Really Adam Lambert? You’re GAY?! Who knew, eh? ) All of these things make the news. That Tom the Auto Mechanic decided to watch the football game instead of going to Mass I’m afraid no one, outside of the church that is, cares. So, I think your hearing about this has more to do with an emphasis from our particular culture at this time than a particular emphasis from the church.

May I change the scenario slightly? I have found sex with men to be not only natural, but downright fantastic. I have found that it was better the more frequently I changed partners. The church would call all of those encounters fornication, a mortal sin. If it weren’t for these sexual transgressions (which many in my life don’t know about), one might conclude that I am otherwise a woman of high moral character. The church doesn’t care that I am attracted to these men (Hispanic men from the east side being a particular favorite). ALL of these encounters were mutually pleasurable and certainly felt very, very natural. Why does the church condemn me to hell for this behavior? My reasoning for it is the same as yours, mind you, that I didn’t see anything wrong with it, particularly since we were both consenting adults, and the church’s reasoning as far as why this is a sin, is the same as it is for yours.
For what I think is a great, orthodox, and honest answer as to why, go here:

conversiondiary.com/2007/08/what-will-i-tell-my-gay-friends.html

By the way, the goal here is not that everyone he heterosexual. The goal here is that everyone gets to heaven. It’s not like somehow being heterosexual means you are more pleasing in God’s eyes or anything like that.

I will pray for you. I can see this is an issue which weighs heavy on your heart, and I pray you find your peace.

 

[rwillenborg]

Why not? Wanting to fornicate with people who are not your spouses is very natural, and very pleasurable, and wanting to have sex outside of marriage is also very natural.

 

[ironband]

Thanks, everyone. And by the way, I’m a girl.

I just don’t get the reasoning. The concept is familiar to me and I’ve seen it repeated over and over here. Yes, the Church is fine with SSA. I know that.

Thank you. I’m trying to be as courteous as I can about this.

Draggar,

First of all, I would like to compliment you on your courtesy, and also your desire to seek the truth. Clearly you are seeking understanding. You will be in my prayers.

It really comes down to the purpose of sexual acts. The way we are designed by God, there is a dual purpose to what we often refer to as the “marital act”, since it rightly occurs within the context of marriage. First is the procreative - the openness of the act towards the generation of new life. Second is the unitive - that through that act the spouses are joined as one, are bonded, and fully give of themselves for the good of the other. The act, like the marriage, is to be free, total, faithful, and designed to transmit life.

I would encourage you to check out the Theology of the Body for an in depth treatment of this truth in far more eloquent ways than I can convey it.

When either of these components is removed, the act becomes disordered and utilitarian in nature. It becomes the use of another for my own pleasure without making a total gift of myself. That the use is mutual with another person doesn’t change the fact that we are, in essence, using one another. Even within my marriage, if my wife and I approach the marraige bed with an unchaste attitude, we render the act sinful.

The sexual union of two individuals having the same sex can not yield new life. It is impossible for one woman to give fully her fertility to another woman. Likewise, it is impossible for a man to give fully his fertility to another man. This is why the act is deemed by the Church to be inherently disordered and against the natural law.

Certainly, you have a burdonsome cross to carry. But if you offer it to Christ, He will certainly help you bear it and turn it into something beautiful.

 

[Draggar]

Why not? Wanting to fornicate with people who are not your spouses is very natural, and very pleasurable, and wanting to have sex outside of marriage is also very natural.

I don’t want to have sex outside of marriage. If that’s what I was implying, I apologize. I realize that’s not okay.

And also, I didn’t mean that I personally sin less than the average person.

Sorry for the short reply. I have to leave right now, but I’ll try to reply in depth later.

 

[Scoobyshme]

Thanks, everyone. And by the way, I’m a girl.

I know the whole thing about tendencies and attraction and being called to a chaste life. I’ve been here before and I know the whole “chaste or bust” deal. I guess I didn’t word my question right, but that’s okay. I get the rules, and the belief. I just don’t understand it. I can’t completely fathom the reasoning behind it. Thanks for trying to explain it.

I’ll admit - while I am chaste right now due to the fact that I don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t plan on staying that way forever. I understand that the homosexual behavior is a choice, but I do not understand why, if for all the wonderful things a person can do in their life, if they are homosexual and unchaste, they are put down so hard. If the “sin” of a homosexual act is something that you don’t personally understand as a sin, if you’re not going to just take peoples’ word for it, but you otherwise sin less than the average person… I just don’t get it. I mean, I have a strong relationship with God. I am very spiritual. I just feel like I am not being called to a life completely free of the “homosexual act”. I will find a single partner to stay with forever, and I’m not sorry to say that they will be a girl. I don’t understand how something that feels so natural could be shot down as “unnatural”. There are gay animals, for goodness’ sake. Nobody’s telling them to live a chaste life, or hurting them for not.

I just don’t get the reasoning. The concept is familiar to me and I’ve seen it repeated over and over here. Yes, the Church is fine with SSA. I know that.

Thank you. I’m trying to be as courteous as I can about this.

I think it was St. Anselm who said when speaking about the faith, that we should not seek understanding in order to believe, but believe in order to understand.

And remember the old Latin phrase, “Lex orandi, lex credendi.” “As we pray, so shall we believe.” In other words our belief follows our actions, in a sense. If we live right, we will gain real faith.

As Catholics, we aren’t required to understand absolutely everything. There are some things in our faith that are mysteries, such as the Trinity. However, we are called to give 100% religious assent to all of the Church’s teachings. That should come first and foremost.

That being said, homosexual acts are against the natural law. What is the natural law? The best way I think we can describe it is like this…

I have a car. It was made by Honda. The owners manual, also made by Honda, is in the glove box. It tells me, from the manufacturer’s standpoint, how to best operate my car. For example, it says I have to put unleaded gasoline in the tank.

But, what if I ignored the owner’s manual, and decided that I thought it would be better to put buttermilk in the tank next time I ran out of gas? What would happen? I’d be a pedestrian! Why? Because the manufacturer didn’t design my car to run on buttermilk!

We have a Manufacturer, too. (God.) God has given us an owners manual, the natural law. The summation of this natural law is the 10 Commandments. One of those is the 6th, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery. Oh, you say, “But I’m not looking to commit adultery!” True. But like our Constitution, the meaning is deeper than the surface words. We are all called, by the 6th Commandment to live chaste lives in relation to where we are in our lives. Sex is reserved only for those who are married. For Catholics, for those who are sacramentally married. Why? 'Cause God said so. How do we know? Because His Mystical Body, the Church, says so. Christ promised that the “gates of hell” would never “prevail” over His Church. That means it can never teach doctrinal error. He will prevent that from happening.

So, it’s not what we think, or what we want in life that counts. It’s what God thinks and what God wants that counts. It doesn’t matter if we don’t like it.

I think when we die and make it to heaven, it’ll all make much more sense. We’ll have a big, “OOOHHH! I never realized that in this way before. NOW it makes SO much more sense!”

Jesus never called us to be successful or “happy” in this world (at least not in the way folks in our culture believe what “happy” means, i.e., mere subjective satisfaction). He called us to be faithful to Him and His Church. We only have two worthy goals in this life: 1) the salvation of our soul and 2) the salvation of as many other souls as we can help out.

Here’s a good .mp3 talk on the Natural Law by Dr. Charles E. Rice:

alabamacatholicresources.com/Downloads/Natural_Law-1.mp3

 

[Orogeny]

By unnatural, I mean, it is not possible for me to feel attracted to a man. It is simply not. Just as it would be impossible for someone who is heterosexual to suddenly become gay, I cannot even begin to imagine myself with a man.

As a human being, you have the ability to control your feelings, attractions or what ever you want to call them. I won’t for a second argue that you should be with a man because I do not believe that one makes a choice as to who one is attracted to, but that is irrelevant when it comes to determining if it is right to act on the attraction.

It goes back to my original example of being attracted to another woman. The attraction to other women does not go away once you say “I do” at the altar, believe me. What does happen is that you have to recognize that the attraction can lead you into sin if you don’t resist. You mentioned before that marriage is a commitment, but that it is not just a commitment to my wife, it is also a commitment to God. God made it clear in scriptures that sex outside of marriage (fornication) is a sin. If you chose to enter into a non-marital sexual relationship, you are purposely chosing to sin, even if it makes you feel good.

And no, I’m not talking about acting out on attractions, exactly.

Then what would you be acting on?

I don’t think homosexuality is in the same realm as adultery.

What do you think the difference is?

Peace

Tim

 

[rwillenborg]

I don’t want to have sex outside of marriage. If that’s what I was implying, I apologize. I realize that’s not okay.

And also, I didn’t mean that I personally sin less than the average person.

Sorry for the short reply. I have to leave right now, but I’ll try to reply in depth later.

Oh, no I didn’t mean you. Sorry if that was the impression I gave.
What I am saying is this:
Desiring to have sex with someone of the same sex is, for a great many people, a very natural inclination and in fact, very pleasurable.
Desiring to have sex with people without the commitment of marriage, for a great many people, is also a very natural inclination, and in fact, very pleasurable.
You are saying that you do not see why sex with a partner of the same gender should be outside of the bounds of church rules, since it is, after all, a natural inclination. My point is that sex with a member of the opposite sex, outside of the confines or marriage, or even WITHIN the confines of marriage and done in a way that frustrates the procreative aspect of it, is also a natural inclination.
So I guess my question is, why do you think the church should approve of one type of relationship (the homosexual one) but still expect them to uphold the other type of relationship (the heterosexual one)?
By the way, I also appreciate your respectful tone. It’s obvious you are looking for answers, and that is admirable. I ask my question not to be impolite, but only to try to understand the basis of your reasoning. Thank you!

 

[Belle777]

I know how Draggar feels EXACTLY.

While I stated that I don’t act on my bisexuality any more for the sake of a vocation, and even then out of obedience to the church, I still can’t convince myself why being gay is wrong.

EDIT: Why ACTING on homosexuality is wrong.

Every answer leads to a new question that goes in a circle.

Such as ‘they can’t create life, so they can’t get married, and therefore can’t have sex since unmarried people must be chaste.’

Well, what about women or men that can’t produce children?

They can get married and have sex that doesn’t create.

I’d like to believe I’m obeying the church laws the best I can, that doesn’t mean I understand them completely.

 

[GraceDK]

What it all comes down to is whether you believe in the Christian Revelation or not.
If you do, you are no longer solely your own guide when it comes to truth and morality.

God has given us His Word because we can only fathom quite little if we try to sort things out by ourselves. Even with the aid of the natural law inscribed in us we still need Revelation too.
There are precisely people who leave a husband or wife or family for the sake of starting a new life with a person that they claim to love. Love seeks union… thats natural, they would say. But they forget that the world and man is in a FALLEN state.
I have been in relationships where having sexual intimacy felt natural and good at the moment of its occurance, but I regret it deeply. Even if it meant I should go to the grave without having experienced the wonder of human sexuality in a relationship. the sins that seperate us from God are still that… and they are never worth it.
When it all comes down to it: dont give up your reconciliation with God through Jesus for anything.
You call your self a spiritual person. That might be true, but from every post on here - taken that you are a Christian - we see a spiritual person tempted to sin against God.
We are not your guides and authority, but He is, and he speaks through revelation.
You have to find out if you believe in Him. Because if you dont, we can talk all we want about revealed morality, and we will be wasting our time.
You cannot be spiritual and at the same time give your self over to a life of mortal sin.
Many of us have tried to combine two worlds, one what that was godless and one where God is the boss… the two cannot be combined.
Many have to experience the emptiness and confusion and darkness of sin before they realise that they cant change reality, however much they want to.

Peace to you.

 

[ironband]

I know how Draggar feels EXACTLY.

Every answer leads to a new question that goes in a circle.

Such as ‘they can’t create life, so they can’t get married, and therefore can’t have sex since unmarried people must be chaste.’

Well, what about women or men that can’t produce children?

They can get married and have sex that doesn’t create.

I’d like to believe I’m obeying the church laws the best I can, that doesn’t mean I understand them completely.

Well, first of all, kudos to you for following the Dominican school of thought of “faith seeking understanding” Sometimes it helps us to live out the law of the Church, even before we understand it fully.

Like I said before, Theology of the Body puts it in ways that are much better than I can from my memory. But the argument about women and men who can’t produce children breaks down in that IF their bodies were working in the way that they were designed, the act could be fruitful. Now infertility and age and all that can diminish fertility, but the point is that it is still open to life. Take, for instance, Abraham and Sarah. Sarah was beyond child bearing years, but the act was still open to life, and with God’s help, Isaac was conceived. The conjugal act between a man and woman is the only union which can produce new life. In cooperation with God, this act has the potential to change the universe forever by creating a new soul. Think about that for a moment and just how powerful that is.

The idea in a marriage between a man and women, one or both of whom are infertile, is that they are not doing anything which would render the sexual act sterile.

But by definition, even if two men are fertile, they can not together conceive new life. And the same with two women. No matter how fertile they are, they can not together conceive new life. Sexual acts between two members of the same sex are sterile by definition because of their nature.

I know it is a subtle point, but it makes all the difference in the world.

I will certainly pray for you and your vocation!

 

[micahmike]

By the same token, those who claim to have homosexual inclinations seem to immediately label themselves as “gay” (or homosexuals, if you’re not interested in politics). What if someone never committed a homosexual act? Would they still be considered a homosexual? I would say, like the above example, certainly not.

By your logic, a virgin cannot be heterosexual then? A man who is and has always been strongly attracted to women and feels the strong desire to have sex with a woman isn’t straight because he hasn’t had sex?

 

[edwest2]

I encourage everyone to stop being vague or offering unsubstantiated opinions. Catholics are against embryonic stem cell research but the lazy question: Is it human? gets a lot of opinions but no definite answer. Yes, it is a human being. A unique human being.

Before anyone thinks that homosexuals are going to hell just for having SSA, all heterosexuals are at risk of going to hell for fornication and adultery. Sometimes, an attempt is made to say that fornication and adultery are downplayed. Prior to a few decades ago, same sex marriage was nonexistant. Prior to a few decades ago, homosexuals just wanted to be left alone. Now that Massachusetts has same-sex marriage, privacy is out the window. A dad finds out his son, who is in grade school, is required to read a gay storybook. He complains. He is informed that “it’s not a parental notification issue.” In California, some firemen were forced to appear in a gay pride parade, against their beliefs. I suggest everyone remember that when they think same-sex marriage is just about two people.

From the Catholic Answers Library:

catholic.com/library/Homosexuality.asp

Statement of the Catholic Medical Association:

narth.com/docs/hope.html

God bless,
Ed

 

[Zmurf]

The easy part as far as I am concerned, is living a physically chaste lifestyle. The difficult part is living with the feelings and inadequacy and the yearning for the masculinity of other guys. It’s a very unpleasant and difficult wound to deal with. I only found out I had this problem in my twenties, as ridiculous as that may sound.

If anyone wants help with this, there are some Church documents that can help.

Here is one: vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html

I have found the NARTH website also very helpful.

 

[Scoobyshme]

The easy part as far as I am concerned, is living a physically chaste lifestyle. The difficult part is living with the feelings and inadequacy and the yearning for the masculinity of other guys. It’s a very unpleasant and difficult wound to deal with. I only found out I had this problem in my twenties, as ridiculous as that may sound.

If anyone wants help with this, there are some Church documents that can help.

Here is one: vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html

I have found the NARTH website also very helpful.

ZMurf, I was thinking about your post…

How much do you think that our “macho” culture and society have influenced your feelings of inadequacy, etc.? I suspect that may be a big part of it. Otherwise, how would you explain those who are born crippled, etc., feeling fine about themselves in that regard? I’ve met several of these types of folks who have no problem at all. They have overcome their difficulties and supposedly shortcomings in the eyes of society and thrived.

Just wondering…

 

[Carlan]

ZMurf, I was thinking about your post…

How much do you think that our “macho” culture and society have influenced your feelings of inadequacy, etc.? I suspect that may be a big part of it. Otherwise, how would you explain those who are born crippled, etc., feeling fine about themselves in that regard? I’ve met several of these types of folks who have no problem at all. They have overcome their difficulties and supposedly shortcomings in the eyes of society and thrived.

Just wondering…

You got it Scooby, they have all skipped over the Doctrine of the Cross. Take up your cross and follow Jesus, He makes the burden light! Besides it not worth burning in hell for! Oh, the joy of peace! Carlan

 

[Christopher68]

Thanks, everyone. And by the way, I’m a girl.

I know the whole thing about tendencies and attraction and being called to a chaste life. I’ve been here before and I know the whole “chaste or bust” deal. I guess I didn’t word my question right, but that’s okay. I get the rules, and the belief. I just don’t understand it. I can’t completely fathom the reasoning behind it. Thanks for trying to explain it.

I’ll admit - while I am chaste right now due to the fact that I don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t plan on staying that way forever. I understand that the homosexual behavior is a choice, but I do not understand why, if for all the wonderful things a person can do in their life, if they are homosexual and unchaste, they are put down so hard. If the “sin” of a homosexual act is something that you don’t personally understand as a sin, if you’re not going to just take peoples’ word for it, but you otherwise sin less than the average person… I just don’t get it. I mean, I have a strong relationship with God. I am very spiritual. I just feel like I am not being called to a life completely free of the “homosexual act”. I will find a single partner to stay with forever, and I’m not sorry to say that they will be a girl. I don’t understand how something that feels so natural could be shot down as “unnatural”. There are gay animals, for goodness’ sake. Nobody’s telling them to live a chaste life, or hurting them for not.

I just don’t get the reasoning. The concept is familiar to me and I’ve seen it repeated over and over here. Yes, the Church is fine with SSA. I know that.

Thank you. I’m trying to be as courteous as I can about this.

Your posts are indeed courteous, and I believe you are asking very valid questions.

I am a married heterosexual, but if I put myself in your shoes, I would be asking the same questions.

I believe people are born with SSA and that the attraction is not a choice. That is, God made them that way. I also have a difficult time believing the notion that God made someone a certain way, and then also made it a grave sin to act on the intuitions that He gave them, especially when we’re talking about consenting adults and no one else. I can understand the heartache and loneliness one would feel in going through life solo, and I fail to understand why God would want that for someone. Yes, we all have our crosses to bear, but repressing who you are at your very core just doesn’t seem right.

 

[edwest2]

I’m a heterosexual and unmarried. I need to overcome what I am at the very core and remain chaste. Unfortunately, whenever I turn on the media, I’m bombarded with tons of encouragement to just have sex. That’s why I watch only 15 minutes of TV a week, skip most movies, leave my car radio on Catholic Radio, and don’t go to strip clubs. There are also many magazines and books I can’t buy.

Jesus overcame the world. We are encouraged to do the same.

And you, only you, decide.

God bless,
Ed

 

[Zmurf]

I believe people are born with SSA and that the attraction is not a choice. That is, God made them that way. I also have a difficult time believing the notion that God made someone a certain way, and then also made it a grave sin to act on the intuitions that He gave them, especially when we’re talking about consenting adults and no one else. I can understand the heartache and loneliness one would feel in going through life solo, and I fail to understand why God would want that for someone. Yes, we all have our crosses to bear, but repressing who you are at your very core just doesn’t seem right.

I don’t think people are born with ssa. The attraction is not a choice. That I believe is also true. The problem originates in the early stages of a child’s life.

If anything, I am bi-. I am attracted to women, but I also have this woundedness which means I am also feeling these other attractions. It’s a wound that I believe can be healed.

ZMurf, I was thinking about your post…

How much do you think that our “macho” culture and society have influenced your feelings of inadequacy, etc.? I suspect that may be a big part of it. Otherwise, how would you explain those who are born crippled, etc., feeling fine about themselves in that regard? I’ve met several of these types of folks who have no problem at all. They have overcome their difficulties and supposedly shortcomings in the eyes of society and thrived.

Just wondering…

Yeah I think there is an issue with the rigid gender ideals and stereotypes that are presented. I think God might have other ideas about what it is to be a man, Christ on the cross being the main ideal. Our culture presents us with the ideal of manhood: muscles, deep voice, stubble, womaniser etc… If you don’t match up, then… That is what I felt growing up at school.

It’s a sickness of mind and soul. But I believe God wants us to be healed. I’m feeling really sorry for myself right now. I think to myself ‘I never asked for this’. And yet, some life choices, my own sins, have made things worse for me and complicated an already challenging healing process.

EDIT: I should add that the Catholic Church and catholic psychologists and psychiatrists have written what I hold to be the best insights and truths about this condition and how it can be healed.

 

[raaucoin]

Homosexuality, SSA, being a Lesbian what ever you want to call it- I got it. I didn’t choose it. I knew I was “different” at a very young age. kindergarten or before. No I had no idea of the sexual implications. I just knew one day I’d grow up to be “mommy and mommy” and not mommy and daddy. And I knew that I had better not say anything about it.And I didn’t until I was 15 yrs,. old.

It was a living HELL. I was shunned by friends, disappointed my parents, dissappointed by my parents, ostracized and intimidated at school. I tried to “be straight " it didn’t work.
I “came out” because that was the thing to do. That was the only option presented to me.The catechesis I received was poor on this subject. It went something like this"homosexuality is an abomination to God. Fags are going to hell.”

Well that sort of catholicism- I wanted no part of. No one inside or outside of the church(at that time) told me there was another beautiful option:

I could accept that for whatever reason,- and the reason isn’t so important to me- I have this “disordered” orientation, and I can pick up my cross and carry it for the Lord. And I joyfully do so now. I have asked the Lord to remove this “thorn from my side” but as of yet, it seems He prefers that I remain as I am and that I continue to offer back to Him the gift of my sexual self-- that part of me that longs to be intimately united to another.

I join that part of me that suffers-and so little in comparison to His suffering- to His on the cross. When I think it’s unfair that I’ll never again hold anyone as I once did, I can’t help but think He must have longed to be held and to feel that He was special to someone.

I freely not only accept, but embrace the Church’s teaching and in doing so I am able to embrace my Dear Jesus crucified in a way I would not other wise be able to. And in that scense, being Gay, lesbian or someone with SSA is a gift.

I didn’t choose it, but I do have a choice in what I do about it.

Please pray for me and the many others returning home.-Freely and joyfully.

“Thank you Good Shepherd for screaming continuously until I finally heard Your voice.”