Hi Father This is more of a statement then a question. First, I was raised RC and attended a RC school from KG to 13. I was an alter boy for many years! I would say that since the age of 17 or so, I have not been a regular! Mostly because of my own acceptance of who I am, that is to say gay!!! But never have I forgotten the lessons that I learned from parents and the church. I truly believe I am the person I am today due to those lessons. I may strongly disagree with a lot of thing I have heard from all religions, but that has not stopped me from having a truly meaningful relationship with my Maker. When I was going through the hardest times dealing with who I was, I had a couple of very moving things happen.I remember praying for answers to some very basic questions. Then, out of the blue, my grade 11 math teacher (a Christian Brother) would go off on a wild tangent and start to talk about what I had prayed for the previous night! I swear he was addressing my questions. For me this was God in action!! It was at that point that I knew God could care less if I was str8 or gay as long as I was a good person, a real Christian!! (not like the most of them I see today who call themselves Christian) So when I was told by my doc that I had advanced AIDS it was hard, very hard, but I knew that there is a lot more out there then what we see in this world. It was at that point, a friend asked if I was mad at God. I looked at him and said "mad at God, why would I be mad at someone who loves me!!"Thanks for the ear!!!!AndrŽ

Dear Andre---Thanks for your sharing. It sounds like you have heard and accepted what God struggles to communicate to every human being---"you are made in my image and I love you". I hope that you and I and everyone who hears that message can keep the gifts of love--healing, justice and forgiveness--at the center of our lives and relationships. Peace and blessings, Fr. Rod