Love Letters From Rev. Sex S2:01 A Love Letter to the Grieving

Summary

“Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, spiritual and physical necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.” --- Earl Grollman

When the waves of pain make everything feel senseless, Reverend Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio) offers presence to those grieving amid violence, systemic harm, and spiritual overwhelm in this opening episode of Season Two. Reverend Sex names how many were taught to privatize grief or rely on clichés. They argue that a core lie of “bad theology” is treating God as fragile—unable to hold rage, despair, doubt, and the question “why.” Instead, Reverend Sex invites listeners to let grief move through the body, using water and candlelight as companions for release and transmutation, while calling on the divine, ancestors, and elements for strength. 

00:00 Welcome Back Beloved

01:45 A Love Letter for Grief

03:37 Unlearning Fragile God

04:55 When Pain Makes No Sense

08:17 Water as Sacred Release

11:17 Opening Outward Together

12:32 Bless the Turning

14:37 Prayer for Holding Grief

18:11 Closing and Podcast Updates

Hosted by Reverend Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), Love Letters from Reverend Sex is confession and revelation, intimate and inspirational. This weekly message from an ordained pastor, spiritual healer, and bruja troublemaker will empower you to reject practices of spiritual violence and eradicate shame and fear in your life. This is the spiritual home you’ve been looking for.

The entire Shameless Theology podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful. It’s a space for exploration--un/learning and re/membering our spiritual journeys through sharing the experience, wisdom, and connections Soulforce has built as an international LGBTQIA+ social justice nonprofit organization over the last 30 years.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Shameless Theology homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latine power building, please make a donation.

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FREE PREVIEW: Spiritual Violence and Religious Phenomena that Defile the Faith: https://soulforce.org/download/spiritual-violence/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/