Six months ago, the death of a humble pope unexpectedly took me on a journey that was a lifetime in the making. @JamesMartinSJ was on GMA speaking about Pope Francis’ legacy of inclusivity. His words struck me. It was the first time I had seen a Catholic priest speaking in such a beautiful way about LGBTQ people. I had received my Christian baptism with my mom 25 years ago when I was 15. In secret, that nagging question persisted: if God created me, how could he not love me? I went on to study religion in college, searching for proof of God. But maybe I was just searching for proof of God’s love. In May, I walked through the doors of St. Paul the Apostle in NYC for the first time as Fr. Eric Andrews preached on three simple words spoken by Christ: Love. One. Another. “When we’re able to love and love freely and openly — and love ourselves as well — we are a long ways down the road to fulfilling the Kingdom of God.” It turns out proof of God’s love wasn’t in the books or lecture halls, or even the amount of years I spent studying. That divine love was in me all along, always whispering guidance, gently reaching out with arms wide open, and like Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, patiently waiting for me to reach back out and embrace the greatest mystery. My Confirmation Mass was a very small gathering of family and friends who have quietly been with me on this journey. But in my mind, those empty pews were filled with a cloud of witnesses: my grandparents who taught me how to pray, my aunts and uncles who helped raise me, and the friends we lost far too soon — praying for me behind an invisible veil. My deepest gratitude to Fr. Eric Andrews, Fr. James Martin, Fr. Paul Rospond, and Fr. Chris Lawton for showing me that God’s loving mercy is unconditional, @joeychancey for pouring his heart out into the piano keys and into our friendship, Alison McCartan for allowing us to hear what an angel sounds like, @Don Saladino for his prayers, my mom and sister for being examples of grace in action, and to my incredible husband and sponsor @TommyDiDario for supporting me through it all. I found the Ark of the Covenant in my heart, stored there by the one who created me… exactly as I am. #catholic #christian
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