30th Sunday OT, Year C
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
“Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else: An American Catholic got up to pray and said ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — supporting Donald Trump and the Republicans — I am voting for Hillary because I love the poor and want equality for all.’ Or perhaps he said ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — supporting Hillary and the Democrats — I am voting for Donald Trump because I love the unborn and we need to secure our borders.”
The fact is… sinful pride is bi-partisan. And what does the Church want from Catholics this election year? To grow in humility, to deepen their faith, to avoid sin at all costs, and to build as just a society as possible. But we can’t be like Pharisees about it.
Christ is clear. The tax collector who begged for mercy; he went home justified. Why? Because human beings, even though they are created good and loved by God, are fallen. It is impossible… impossible for a human being to be holy by their own strength. Just like it is impossible for a society, a country, a political party to be genuinely good by relying on human cleverness or even good ole fashioned hard work. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
So how to humble ourselves this election season? Politics and faith is not an easy intersection to navigate. But, we have help. It is imperative that Catholics learn and understand what the Catholic Church actually teaches about our political involvement. Today, we’ve heard from the book of Sirach, from the Psalms, and from the Gospel. We also heard a letter from the Apostle Paul. Not only that, but I have here a letter from our own successor to the Apostles, bishop Deshotel, about the election. It’s also in the bulletin. Here’s what he says:
“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in a short time we will all have the opportunity to elect new leaders for our nation, state, and local communities. The right to vote is a cherished right, won by the sacrifices of many men and women who have served our country in the past and the founders who established our Constitution.
As citizens of the United States, we have a duty to vote, a moral obligation to improve the community in which we live and to elect good leaders who make good and just laws that protect the rights and freedoms of all. St. Paul even told the early Christians to be good citizens of the Roman Empire and to give good example by their lives.
The Catholic Church does not endorse any candidate or political party. Each Catholic should inform themselves of the positions held by the various candidates and vote for those who most closely reflect the values and moral teaching that we as Catholic believe build a good and just society. There can be differences of opinion about how that is best achieved.
For us as Catholics and for all people of good will, the following are beliefs that are non-negotiable:
– The reverence and sacredness of every human being from conception in the womb until natural death because the human person is created in the image and likeness of God.
– The right to life of every child in the womb.
– The sacredness of the family as the basic building block of society.
– The definition of Christian marriage as the permanent union of one man and one woman open to new life.
– The right of the human person to decent housing and employment at a just wage.
– The just and fair treatment of immigrants who come to our country to seek a better life for themselves and their families.
These are values which we believe will improve our society and preserve our civilization. I pray that each Catholic in the Diocese of Lafayette will take their duty to vote seriously and exercise that duty. May the Holy Spirit guide us all as we seek the will of God and build a just society for all citizens of the United States.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel
Bishop of Lafayette.”
What the Bishop says comes straight from Church teaching and all of those things the bishop mentioned as non-negotiable are in fact non-negotiable. The Catholic Faith isn’t a list of ideas you happen to agree with; it is a commitment to trust and follow Jesus Christ and the authority he entrusted to his Church. To deny a doctrine of the Church is to reject what it means to be Catholic. We don’t get to pick and choose. And that… that cuts both ways in our political environment. Neither major party is completely in line with the Church.
Bishop Deshotel said to “vote for those who most closely reflect the values and moral teaching that we as Catholics believe build a good and just society.” The fact is that both major candidates directly endorse serious evils. Given that Louisiana – and Acadiana especially – is so pro-life, thanks be to God, I think you can immediately figure out the problem with one candidate. Perhaps you can’t name the problem with the other. Well, I’ll say this much: torture, intentionally targeting non-combatants in war, unjust religious discrimination, and inhumane deportation procedures are all serious problems. Not to mention the sick, twisted, and violent people who seem to be encouraged by one or the other candidate. I personally know someone who compares one candidate to Hitler, and thinks it’s a good thing! If you don’t know who I’m referring to, you need to take a closer look at who they are and what they support.
So yeah, there are some serious problems. What matters most? That you avoid sin at all costs. Please vote, but put real thought and prayer into your vote. Even if you vote for the “best candidate,” but do it in a lazy way or for the wrong reasons, it could still be sinful. I highly recommend you read the USCCB letter “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” It’s on their website, or you can just Google it.
But, you know what. A vote is something you do once every four years. It’s hardly the highest form of civic participation available to us. Really, with candidates so bad, we have to ask ourselves some questions. If you choose to vote for one of them because you see some possibility of good, you need to ask yourself what you are doing to counteract all the bad that they will do. Will you volunteer and donate to an organization to help women in crisis pregnancies to choose life? Will you advocate for refugees who just want to stay alive and are fleeing the monstrosities in their home countries… monstrosities that are using United States weapons? Will you openly and persistently criticize and oppose the evil policies of the person you voted for? Because if you won’t, then God would be right to ask “why did you help give power to someone who did so much evil? Why did you not resist them?”
I don’t want to fuss at you, and I believe that you have a sincere desire to do what is right. So, I urge you to act on that desire with your whole life, not just November 8. I have two last things for you to consider. The first is a quote from Mother Teresa. “God does not require that we be successful; he requires only that we try.” Even if you do the right thing and “lose” politically, that is what God wants. Don’t let our American obsession with winning turn you into a Pharisee who is obsessed with works and what we can do by our own power. Faithfulness to the Truth, the whole truth, is far more important.
Secondly, I am calling for a 48 hour fast for the future of our country. I invite you to join me and many others to offer a fast on the day before and the day of the election, November 7 & 8. Food, entertainment, drinks, deserts. Give up something and offer the sacrifice to God, not for your own candidate, but that His providence brings about the best possible outcome, whatever that is. Regardless of our disagreements, we should at least be united in prayer and sacrifice, imploring God to bring out the best future according to His wisdom, not our own. At the very lest, we can learn from the Tax Collector and approach our future as he did: “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”