Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Gay converts

Oscar Wilde waited until he was on his deathbed to convert, and his tombstone ... gives pause.

Pier Vittorio Tondelli also converted late in life, possibly as the result of the AIDS that would eventually kill him. But his last writings do not give pause, according to this report:
Speaking about chastity after his conversion, Tondelli called it “a mystic virtue for those who have chosen it and perhaps the most superhuman use of sexuality.”
A few days before dying, Tondelli read the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, making a few notes in the margins, such as, “Literature does not bring salvation, never. Only love, faith and falling back into grace saves.”
Nobody understands chastity better than those who struggle with it and/or have paid a price for violating it. It's humbling to look back at what you gained for it. Not a pearl of great price, but a speck of sand (or maybe a handful) that grates against your own feet. And nobody is in more awe of the men God calls up to live a chaste, celibate life. We know better than anyone that it's impossible (yes, I said "impossible") without grace, without love for He Who calls, and faith in Him.

1 comment:

Uncle Morgie said...

I'm Gay, 54 years old, celibate. I'll become a Catholic on Easter.

The ways of the Catholic Church are so gentle, I feel right at home & God has visited me in some funny ways. (As a refugee from Evangelicalism, I'm actually quite comforted.)

I've learned so much about selfishness and (especially) pride since Ash Wednesday, it's as if the daily readings are directed at me.

My previous husk of a heart has opened and become privy to a previously unimagined thing called "happiness."

And Joy and Love.