A New Book on Gay Spirituality

Gay is a Gift is a new book on Gay Spirituality from Salvatore Sapienza, the Lambda Literary award nominee for Seventy Times Seven


Monday, March 21, 2011

The Gift of Gay: Confessor to Thomas Merton

“The Gift of Gay”: Father Matthew Kelty, the last confessor to Thomas Merton, died a few weeks ago a the age of 96. In his 1994 book, My Song of Mercy, Father Matthew came out of the closet at the age of 90, arguing that being gay was a gift – one that aided him in his spiritual path.

"There are none more called to it, more capable of it, more created for it, than the people we call gay...Bless them!" Father Kelty wrote in the chapter entitled “The Gift of Gay.”

Religion Dispatches wrote in his obituary:

Father Matthew Kelty decided, in anticipation of his ninetieth year, to uncloset his monastic self, and thus to attempt to describe what gifts gay and lesbian Christians have to contribute to the complex tapestry of Christian communion. He did so because he had come to feel a responsibility to those “least among us” who were not moving on a path toward acceptance in as straight a line as many in the late ’60s and early ’70s had hoped.

Kelty wrote, "I may as well make it clear: …[this] is why so many heterosexuals abandon celibacy after a decade or two: they cannot handle it: they need an external woman to awaken the inner one, especially in our culture...The meeting of the bride within is not had merely for the asking. Her hand must be won; love of her must be proven. Heroic effort is taken as a matter of course… Notwithstanding many find her, and these are the people who have truly lived. It is these who know God and who will see his face because they know what love is."

Thank you, Father Kelty, for reminding us that Gay is a Gift.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Gay is a Gift: Topic of New Hay House Radio Show



Wanted to let you know about a great new radio show on Hay House Radio hosted by Karen McCrocklin. It starts on March 16, 9 am - 10 am (PST) and the topic is Gay Is a Gift!


Karen says: "Welcome to a new dialogue about what it means to be LGBT! Learn to live your best gay life by connecting with life-changing concepts and practices that will alter the way you look at the world and the way the world looks at you. Being LGBT is not a challenge to overcome, but an opportunity to practice our higher purpose as healers and teachers. Join me for a dialogue about celebrating diversity and overcoming fear of acceptance."


I love the logo Karen created (above). It reminds me that I did not choose to be gay. I was chosen!

Karen McCrocklin has been an LGBT activist for over 25 years and has served on the national and regional governing boards of over a dozen LGBT organizations. In her work as a filmmaker, writer and speaker, Karen’s unique and authentic voice has helped shape the collective dialogue about what it means to be LGBT in America. In her long career as a community advocate, she has hosted radio programming, written columns and articles for major LGBT magazines and websites and produced dozens of fund-raising and social events.
I hope to be on Karen's show in the near future, talking about my book Gay is a Gift, available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Congrats, Karen, and thanks to you and Hay House for spreading the good word about Gay is a Gift.