In 2014, I was head over heels for the Catholic Church. A young adult going to mass every Sunday morning and then again Sunday night for “Teen” mass wasn’t abnormal in the city of Corpus Christi. I mean, the name of the city translates into “Body of Christ.” (Spoiler: “Teen” mass wasn’t as ‘Hip’ or ‘poppin’ as you might think it would be. The only difference was instead of a children’s choir it was a ragtag band playing slow Jesus songs.) But this Teen Mass was different, this was my last one before I traveled with fellow Catholic teens to Florida for a two week trip. Our destination: Steubenville, a catholic conference that would change my view on being a catholic for a long time.
When we arrived at the Steubenville Conference it was everything I could’ve hoped for; with around 2,000- 2,500 teens my age I didn’t feel singled out, well, not yet. We had morning mass, played games, sang songs then had Adoration. …show more content…
All 2,500 teens were hanging onto every word this man spoke. He said, “The Lord will forgive you, for all your wrongdoings whither it be lying, stealing, baring false witness or even being gay. He will forgive you and as His people we must forgive our fellow brothers and sisters-” But in that single moment Instead of feeling that touchy-feely “I want to forgive!” I felt like a spotlight had been put on me, my face flushed and I began to feel my blood come to a slow boil. The words “gay” and “forgive” began to replay in my mind. Had he said it right? Was being gay so bad that it was grouped into a sentence with Deadly Sins? Did I NEED forgiveness because I was gay? Questions flew around my head like angry hummingbirds. I didn’t want to be FORGIVEN, I wanted to be accepted. Change wasn’t something in my nature so why was the “Lord” asking me to? My heart that once was about to burst into happiness was now being drained out, the tie I felt that bonded me with my brothers and sisters was now
When we arrived at the Steubenville Conference it was everything I could’ve hoped for; with around 2,000- 2,500 teens my age I didn’t feel singled out, well, not yet. We had morning mass, played games, sang songs then had Adoration. …show more content…
All 2,500 teens were hanging onto every word this man spoke. He said, “The Lord will forgive you, for all your wrongdoings whither it be lying, stealing, baring false witness or even being gay. He will forgive you and as His people we must forgive our fellow brothers and sisters-” But in that single moment Instead of feeling that touchy-feely “I want to forgive!” I felt like a spotlight had been put on me, my face flushed and I began to feel my blood come to a slow boil. The words “gay” and “forgive” began to replay in my mind. Had he said it right? Was being gay so bad that it was grouped into a sentence with Deadly Sins? Did I NEED forgiveness because I was gay? Questions flew around my head like angry hummingbirds. I didn’t want to be FORGIVEN, I wanted to be accepted. Change wasn’t something in my nature so why was the “Lord” asking me to? My heart that once was about to burst into happiness was now being drained out, the tie I felt that bonded me with my brothers and sisters was now