A Letter from Dad

I recently received a letter from my father after a rather heated discussion about faith and religion over the phone. My father and I are both very passionate people, committed to the ideals that we believe in, and matters of such great depth evoke a certain emotional response.
My father is a compassionate and humble man, and this is what he wrote to me.

Dear Meg-
The church is certainly in turmoil, but no more so than many hundreds of times throughout history. In the fourteenth century there were actually two popes and people were forced to choose or be persecuted or killed. People of wisdom and courage did not choose but rather set their sights on the true leader of the church, our Lord and Savior.

Any Catholic with a brain struggles with his or her faith. All good people struggle with their faith. It is part of being alive. It matters not that we fall but rather that we once again stand, take a step and continue to struggle forward.

People in the church that persecute the faithful for their sexual orientation believe that they are in power. But rather, we are the church and our Lord is in power.

Do not allow people to have power over you. We people of faith will stand up against this injustice. It will not last, our Lord will have His way.

I Love you Megan and I have faith that you will continue to struggle as long as you live. I have Faith in you and I believe in you. And I pray for you.

Enjoy each day
Cherish each day
and I miss you
With My Love,
Dad

PS. I heard about Sister Jennine Grammick. Her ministry to Gay and Lesbian Catholics, helping to bring them back to the church. I saw her show on PBS but I do not have info on her. It was a beautiful piece on Sister Grammick "In Good Conscience" a documentary. I did not see the documentary but rather a small piece on her work on the PBS show "In The Life".


You know, my Dad is a very good man, and reading his letter reminded me how important the struggle is...and so, I am still here!