The Cyrenaian Hedonic church

The old accusation was always the same:

Know your place.
Stay hidden. Stay quiet. Stay ashamed.

But Pride has never been merely arrogance.

Pride is also the refusal to apologize for existing.

Pride is a trans woman stepping into daylight. Pride is two men holding hands in public. Pride is a queer teenager realizing they are not broken.

This month, may we remember that authenticity is not vanity, visibility is not a requirement, and dignity is not an act of aggression.

Celebrate loudly. Celebrate quietly. Celebrate even if you are still finding the words to tell the world:

This is who I am.
I will not disappear.

Pride is not measured by how much of yourself the world can see, but by refusing to carry a shame that was handed to you by someone else.

The sin of Pride may begin when we place ourselves above others.

But the virtue of Pride begins when we finally stop placing ourselves beneath them.

Amen

---

From Commentaries on the Seven Deadly Sins

Pride: The First Flame

Pride is the original fire, the first mirror in which the self saw its shape and did not flinch. The Church would have it extinguished, but I say: it is the spark that makes us gods in our own image.

Pride is not the denial of humility, but the refusal to forget one’s divinity. When wielded with reverence, it is a holy defiance. A mirror polished by spit and leather, pride licks the boots of its own reflection, aching to be both seen and worshipped. In chains or on a throne, we carry that same fire between our thighs.

It is with PRIDE that we put on display our true selves, calling for those who might match our energies. Or that we walk, naked, across the dungeon floor toward our next scene.