Some days I get really exasperated with 'the gays'...
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Like, what's with all the fellowship bullshit at Mass? You don't feel welcome? Why bother going then? I don't go to Mass with expectations of being the center of attention and accolades for just showing up. I don't expect to have some special welcoming committee glad handing me when I walk in. I don't need to be hugged or have my hand held throughout the Lord's Prayer. I don't want to have to stop and chat after Mass while I'm trying to make my thanksgiving. I'm not there to party.
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I go to Mass to pray, to worship, to thank God, to praise God, to ask for God's mercy. I go to Mass because the Love of God attracts me. It is God who first loved me that draws me. I go because I hunger and thirst for Him in the Eucharist. I definitely feel loved by God in the Eucharist, at Mass, in church. And the people are nice - sometimes, sometimes not. There's the bitch who looks down her nose if I wear shorts, the couple who watches me for I don't know what, and the occasional jerk who never says hello or smiles when I say hi and give him a big smile every week. That's life.
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The Church isn't a country club.
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So rather than pissing and moaning that they don't 'feel' accepted by other Catholics at Mass - maybe gay people should take a personal inventory of themselves and answer a few questions about their personal prejudices and lack of acceptance of others. For instance:
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Do you accept other Catholics who may not like you? Ignore you? Sneer at you?
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Do you know that single heterosexuals also feel out of place at times in group and family situations?
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Do you accept Catholic couples who seem to have at least one baby every year with the other 10 annoying you during the homily?
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Likewise, do you accept those families who want to raise their children in line with Catholic teaching?
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Do you accept church-ladies and busy-bodies who are always part of parish life?
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Do you accept the discipline of the Church regarding reception of the Eucharist?
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Do you support the bishops who refuse to permit pro-gay activist groups to meet on Church property?
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Do you accept Catholic teaching on faith and morals?
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Photo: Holy Redeemer, San Francisco, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. That's normal, huh?
