thoughts and ways were never anything like mine? But each year I know love and belonging—a love that doesn’t require sacrifice at the altar of acceptance—I become more of who I already am. I am liberated into what Merton calls my “true self.” I believe this is my deepest calling.

community can mean a household, a local body, a shared identity that stretches across the globe. But it also can mean a group that knows your name, people who know you and know about the ugly parts of you and stay.