Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.
Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Sexual norms will be out the window, and the world will become increasingly confused about morality and God’s design for sex and gender (Romans 1:18-32).
Romans 1:18-32
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
Catholic LGBTQ nuns are speaking up again, and this time they have no intention of going away
New book tells the stories of 23 lesbian and queer religious sisters from different backgrounds, communities, age groups and ministries.
January 26, 2021 By Claire Giangravé RNS
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In a new book, “Love Tenderly: Sacred Stories of Lesbian and Queer Religious,” Catholic vowed sisters share their experiences of identifying as LGBTQ, while making it clear they “are not going away.”
The anthology, published by the LGBTQ outreach program New Ways Ministry, tells the stories of 23 lesbian and queer religious sisters from different backgrounds, communities, age groups and ministries. Sister Grace Surdovel, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, compiled the testimonies. She shares her own experience in a chapter called “Authenticity.”
“We asked folks to share their stories and they started coming in! I was amazed,” said Surdovel during a Zoom call with Religion News Service on Saturday (Jan. 23).
The stories in the book are full of challenges and bumps in the road, she added, “but we’re still here, we found the support we needed and by God we are going to stay in this church and continue to wrestle with it.”
The idea for the anthology emerged from the Womanjourney Weavings program, created by New Ways Ministry to provide an opportunity for dialogue and conversation for LGBTQ religious sisters. For 20 (5+5+5+5) years, the group has been offering events, conferences and retreats to promote dialogue on this topic within the Catholic Church.
According to Catholic teaching, sexual acts must be open to the possibility of generating life, hence exclusively between a man and a woman. For this reason, homosexual acts are considered a sin and people with homosexual tendencies are deemed “intrinsically disordered.”
“It honestly is hard to be in a structure that names me and people like me as innately disordered,” said Sister of Mercy of the Americas, Mary Kay Dobrovolny, a vocation minister who also shares her experience in the book, speaking to RNS.
“I’ve had to do serious work to integrate who I am and find a path to stay Catholic,” she added.
Dobrovolny said that throughout her novitiate, she feared the consequences her sexual identity would have on her ministry and community.
Sister Mary Kay Hunyady, of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, told RNS she also struggled with the Catholic Church’s position on homosexuality, especially as she worked on a dissertation on LGBTQ religious sisters.
“Ultimately, I’m one of the good lesbians, according to the Roman Catholic Church, because I’m celibate,” said Hunyady, who also wrote her experiences in the book, adding that as a psychologist she finds it “bizarre to think that God puts us on this earth and a full blossoming of a part of ourselves is supposed to be denied.”
The sisters pushed back against the notion that just because of their sexual orientation they are not capable of living a full, chaste and faithful life. As a Catholic convert, Sister Alice told RNS, celibacy was an important aspect that drew her to religious life and among the reasons why she chose to stay.
“I like celibate chastity, I like how it orders my life, I like the quality of relationships that I have as a celibate woman religious and I think there will always be people who are called to that,” said Sister Alice, one of the 12 (6+6) authors in the book who chose to write under a pseudonym.
In recent years, the Catholic Church has shown signs of opening toward the LGBTQ community, partly because of strong advocates for inclusion and welcoming among clergy, such as the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, but also because of Pope Francis’ openness on the topic.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
From the pope’s controversial 2013 quote “who am I to judge?” on the subject of homosexual priests, to his public acts and words of charity toward the LGBTQ community, Francis is attempting to “crack open that door and let the light in,” the sisters said.
Hunyady said since she joined her congregation in the ’70s, there has been a significant change in the way LGBTQ issues are addressed in the Catholic Church, which makes it “wonderful and timely that this book is being published now.”
“Love Tenderly” is not the first book documenting the reality of LGBTQ women in Catholic religious congregations. Several books were written on the topic in the ’80s, such as the highly controversial international bestseller “Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence,” which included the personal experiences of 50 (5) ‘religious’ sisters, many of whom eventually left their congregations and the Catholic Church.
“There is so much anger and angst in the book, because they felt so isolated and unable really to be who they were as persons,” said Sister of Mercy Jeanne Christensen, adding this new book “is an important response for that.”
Christensen watched many LGBTQ members of her congregation leave through the years because they didn’t feel accepted or heard. “We made a very clear choice of loving and staying in our community,” she said.
The anthology, she added, “puts us in a position of becoming mentors.” She credits the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas for providing a community that allows its members to come forward and express themselves authentically.
“There is a different level of acceptance locally than in the broader church,” she said. “Women in general aren’t really accepted, let alone women who are lesbian or trans identity or queer identity.”
Sister Mary Janet Rozzano, who is also a Sister of Mercy and came out as lesbian long before the topic became less taboo, describes herself as a far cry from being an activist or militant personality.
“Yet, I’ve done things I never dreamed I would be able to do,” she said, adding her sexual orientation is “a gift and a grace and it’s clear to me that, in some way or another, each of us have to share it.”
Hunyady said she hopes the anthology will be of encouragement for women discerning a religious life and their sexual identity and offer them a model of life in a community that can be fulfilling and edifying.
“Us coming together as a community, where we felt the call of God to stay in our orders with our feet firmly planted on the ground, that’s something that’s changed,” she said.
For Sister of Mercy Julie Brown, who also shared her experience as an LGBTQ nun, this book has been a “game changer” and an opportunity to show that religious communities can be “a safe place for you to come and be as you are.”
“There were many sisters who came out and left, and I didn’t want to be one of those,” she said. “I may not like the institutional Catholic Church, but by golly, I’m in love with my community!”
Seven (7) References to ‘BE WATCHING or WATCHFUL.’
Matthew 24:42; Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Matthew 25:13; Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mark 13:35; Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning.
Luke 21:36; Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man
Luke 12:37-39; Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4; For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (Be Watching).
John 13:19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
John 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
Luke 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
Mark 13:29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
‘Increasing Like Labor Pains.’ ‘Fearful Sights.’ ‘Perilous Times.’ ‘Men’s hearts failing with fear.’ Great Convergence of Signs.’ REDEMPTION IMMINENT.
In His Service,
Night Watchman
Paul Rolland
Night Watchman Ministries
Make Your Decision for Christ NOW!!!!!!! Time is Up!!!!!!!
Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:
The ABCs of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)
A. Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.
. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).
. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).
. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).
B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; that He was both fully God and fully man and that we are saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. Put your trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. Become a son or daughter of God by receiving Christ.
. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
C. Call upon His name, Confess with your heart and with your lips that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.
. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).
. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).
. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).
. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).
. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).
. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).
. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).
. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).
. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).
True Church / Bride of Christ Spared from God’s Wrath:
Romans 5:8-10. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
Romans 12:19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 5:9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Jeremiah 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
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