SATURDAY HOMILY: Voting with a Catholic Conscience
There is no excuse to sit on the sidelines on November 6. "I don't like politics!" No excuse. "I don't like either of the candidates!" No excuse. "I'll just pray about it." Yes, by all means pray, but prayer is no excuse for inaction. Priests for Life and Catholic Vote and EWTN have excellent voter guides. Study them, pray over them and then vote with a Catholic conscience on Election Day. Jesus, Mary and all the Angles and Saints will be watching. Don't let them down!
PrintLONG BEACH, CA (Catholic Online) I wish I could say otherwise, but I must confess that I have been very distracted by the political contest playing out before us, especially in this final stretch before Election Day next Tuesday. I have lived through many elections in my adult life, but this one is without a doubt the most consequential of them all.
The stakes are the highest they have ever been and all issues are on the table. But at the top of the list are three: the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage and religious liberty.
It is no coincidence that those who promote the killing of unborn humans under the deliberately deceptive rubric of "choice" and those who promote the redefinition of marriage under deliberately deceptive rubric of "equality" are the ones who want people of faith to simply shut up and confine their religion to the four walls of their churches.
Some Catholics, I think, prefer it that way. They have an aversion to politics. Politics can be complicated and messy. Hence, Catholics who think this way are quite content to remain completely outside the current of political discourse. They are the ones who say, "Just let me go to Mass and say my prayers, but keep politics out of it."
I agree with this view, to a point. The Church is not a political party. The Church does not exist to get involved in political campaigns. The Church's job, if you will, is to speak about God! But the topic of God is a deep one (infinitely so!) which necessarily impinges upon every aspect of human life, even the political.
Look at Jesus. He was definitely not a politician. He went to great lengths to avoid becoming enmeshed in both political and religious partisanship. When the people wanted to apprehend Him and make Him king, He hid Himself from them. They were looking for an earthly, political Messiah and this He was not.
Jesus came, rather, to teach the Truth; indeed, He is the Truth Incarnate. But for this He ended up being tossed about among the leading "politicians" of His day, both Jewish and pagan, like the proverbial "political football." Finally, He was beaten, tried, convicted and then crucified as a political criminal (remember the Roman governor's placard, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"), which He was not!
The point I am making is this: when one proclaims the Truth, one will be opposed. St. Simeon said as much about Jesus at His Presentation in the Temple when he spoke those mysterious words to Our Lady: "He will be a sign that will be contradicted" (Luke 2:34).
Abortion is the taking of an innocent human life in each and every circumstance. No exceptions.
Marriage has always been and will always be the exclusive union between a man and a woman for the purpose of engendering new life. Period.
These are not political statements. These are simply truths. They are truths which the Church proclaims for everyone to hear and which everyone can understand.
Indeed, it is the Church's solemn duty as well as the duty of every one of Her members to convey these truths to a culture which is rapidly descending into the throes of death.
No bishop, no priest or deacon, no religious or lay faithful can safely run away from this obligation. Each one of us in his or her own place and with all charity must make these truths known to everyone.
To do this effectively requires that we be humble. In today's Gospel Jesus extolls the great and necessary virtue of humility. We must bow down before the Throne of Mercy and recognize that we are no better than anyone else; that we are card-carrying members of the club of sinful humanity.
We must bow down in humility before the Divine Majesty, admitting that we are nothing and can do nothing without God. We must bow down before the Divine Wisdom enshrined in the Magisterium of the Church and embrace it fully. We must bow down to Christ crucified and be willing to be misunderstood and rejected as He was.
There is no excuse to sit on the sidelines on November 6. "I don't like politics!" No excuse. "I don't like either of the candidates!" No excuse. "I'll just pray about it." Yes, by all means pray, but prayer is no excuse for inaction. Priests for Life and Catholic Vote and EWTN have excellent voter guides. Study them, pray over them and then vote with a Catholic conscience on Election Day. Jesus, Mary and all the Angles and Saints will be watching. Don't let them down!
-----
Father G. Peter Irving III is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and is pastor of Holy Innocents Church in Long Beach.
The stakes are the highest they have ever been and all issues are on the table. But at the top of the list are three: the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage and religious liberty.
It is no coincidence that those who promote the killing of unborn humans under the deliberately deceptive rubric of "choice" and those who promote the redefinition of marriage under deliberately deceptive rubric of "equality" are the ones who want people of faith to simply shut up and confine their religion to the four walls of their churches.
Some Catholics, I think, prefer it that way. They have an aversion to politics. Politics can be complicated and messy. Hence, Catholics who think this way are quite content to remain completely outside the current of political discourse. They are the ones who say, "Just let me go to Mass and say my prayers, but keep politics out of it."
I agree with this view, to a point. The Church is not a political party. The Church does not exist to get involved in political campaigns. The Church's job, if you will, is to speak about God! But the topic of God is a deep one (infinitely so!) which necessarily impinges upon every aspect of human life, even the political.
Look at Jesus. He was definitely not a politician. He went to great lengths to avoid becoming enmeshed in both political and religious partisanship. When the people wanted to apprehend Him and make Him king, He hid Himself from them. They were looking for an earthly, political Messiah and this He was not.
Jesus came, rather, to teach the Truth; indeed, He is the Truth Incarnate. But for this He ended up being tossed about among the leading "politicians" of His day, both Jewish and pagan, like the proverbial "political football." Finally, He was beaten, tried, convicted and then crucified as a political criminal (remember the Roman governor's placard, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"), which He was not!
The point I am making is this: when one proclaims the Truth, one will be opposed. St. Simeon said as much about Jesus at His Presentation in the Temple when he spoke those mysterious words to Our Lady: "He will be a sign that will be contradicted" (Luke 2:34).
Abortion is the taking of an innocent human life in each and every circumstance. No exceptions.
Marriage has always been and will always be the exclusive union between a man and a woman for the purpose of engendering new life. Period.
These are not political statements. These are simply truths. They are truths which the Church proclaims for everyone to hear and which everyone can understand.
Indeed, it is the Church's solemn duty as well as the duty of every one of Her members to convey these truths to a culture which is rapidly descending into the throes of death.
No bishop, no priest or deacon, no religious or lay faithful can safely run away from this obligation. Each one of us in his or her own place and with all charity must make these truths known to everyone.
To do this effectively requires that we be humble. In today's Gospel Jesus extolls the great and necessary virtue of humility. We must bow down before the Throne of Mercy and recognize that we are no better than anyone else; that we are card-carrying members of the club of sinful humanity.
We must bow down in humility before the Divine Majesty, admitting that we are nothing and can do nothing without God. We must bow down before the Divine Wisdom enshrined in the Magisterium of the Church and embrace it fully. We must bow down to Christ crucified and be willing to be misunderstood and rejected as He was.
There is no excuse to sit on the sidelines on November 6. "I don't like politics!" No excuse. "I don't like either of the candidates!" No excuse. "I'll just pray about it." Yes, by all means pray, but prayer is no excuse for inaction. Priests for Life and Catholic Vote and EWTN have excellent voter guides. Study them, pray over them and then vote with a Catholic conscience on Election Day. Jesus, Mary and all the Angles and Saints will be watching. Don't let them down!
-----
Father G. Peter Irving III is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and is pastor of Holy Innocents Church in Long Beach.
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Voting, Pro-life, Pro-family, homily, Fr G Peter Irving III, Holy Innocents Long Beach
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I am sad for the many that think about not voting because no candidate is perfect; post-election, we see the sad results. America/Life/Marriage needed every vote, and they were missed. Catholic teaching in a nutshell does not let us "vote for the lesser evil" for we cannot vote for an evil BUT the teaching IS that we may vote to LIMIT evil and that in conscience = voting for the candidate who is the most moral in their current stated values.
Well, the votes are in, now--and many Catholics voted for Obama.... (I know several....) They may not be pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, maybe not even pro-contraception--which is deemed "not so 'bad' " by many Catholics, no matter Humanae Vitae made it clear.... Moral relativism has been expressed quite well by our Catholic Vice-President who said he is "personally opposed to abortion..." but doesn't think his beliefs should be imposed on others (as if "Thou shalt not kill" is a matter of "opinion") and have no place in the "political" realm.... Who said we must put aside what the Lord says: "Happy the nation whose God is the Lord?" Ps.144:15) Our Founding Documents rightly speak of God; why are we, today, supposed to "act as if He does not exist" in the "public square," lest we "impose religion" on others?
Well, the original author of socialized "healthcare" is running against Obamacare; the individual who provided for $50.00 taxpayer abortions is now said to be "Prolife" ; the person who spent over a decade pushing for gay rights, who was governor of the first state to unconstitutionally sanction gay marriage is now the defender of marriage; the lifelong supporter of abortion rights is now the advocate of the unborn (with exceptions, of course. Gotta still leave room to kill those innocents one way or another); the one who agrees with Obama’s unconstitutional breaches is the upholder of the constitution; the candidate no one initially trusted because of his liberal record and flip-flops is now trusted despite his liberal record? REALLY?? Umm, yeah.... so, go ahead and vote.
Our nations faith and values, so abundantly proclaimed in our founding documents and derived of our Judeo Christian heritage, gave birth to a kind of government the world had never known which in time became the shining city on a hill and a hope for all peoples with the grand Lady of Liberty holding a torch to guide them here.
The peace and prosperity which, at great price, the people of our land have embraced and offered to the world is unparalleled in human history. People from around the world come to our shores to partake of it. But as with all good times and human societies, some will desire with their power to take advantage of their freedoms and way of life to the detriment of others. Unfortunately our elected officials are not immune to this practice, often to the point of establishing policies and programs which buffet or corrode the very faith and values which formed our unique society.
Treason, disguised as justified social "progress" or awarding "rights" to special interest groups regardless of the consequences to the greater good and benefit of the people at large, with the help of elitist and media can be presented to and consumed by a public mindset dulled by periods of peace and prosperity without personal sacrifice.
Today the nation's conscience is being challenged more than ever before. The issues have been emboldened by societies continued tolerance of evil practices fashioned often by well meaning authorities and appearing as needed social reforms or benefits to politically protected groups or persuasions without any clue as to the eventual consequences.
Many of our religious leaders are finally beginning to question the validity of such policies within political party platforms admonishing congregations to search their souls and scriptures for guidance before going to the polls or joining political action groups.
This is good advice to those devout souls with religious affiliations or those who at least understand that God has indeed blessed America and that as a people we are the most generous in the world.
Prayer and reflection on the scriptures are powerful responses to problems both seen and unseen because within these pages is written humanity's ultimate and everlasting destiny. However, going to the bible to find the words needed to answer the questions of today is one thing, ignoring or questioning the relativity of what we find there is quite another. We must trust in it even when social "engineers" or politicians scoff at our clinging to it.
Today pray that our lives will forever be bound in faith to the word of God for truly it is the Eternal Living Word which has come down from heaven in Christ and his church and its truth can not be overturned by politicians no matter what office they hold among us. Cling to the Church and the Holy gospels it teaches for though "heaven and earth may pass away" the word of God will forever remain and sustain you.
Father Peter Irving,
An eloquent & concise catholic treatise. Precisely spoken and well received by this humble spirit. May God the Father gift you with many blessings to keep publishing and proclaiming your words of truth to those catholics that need to receive them. Well received.
Best wishes
This is an easy slam dunk for Catholics. Vote out Obama and his Party of Death and Deceit. It's as easy as that.
I think the only ticket that a true Catholic can vote for is the Romney/Ryan ticket. While Romney might not be a Catholic, he respects all faiths, as does his wife and rest of the family. President Obama and his adminstration obviously do not, as you can see with the contraception issues. It's not like women vote from the waist down anyway! And the Democratic party as a whole is Pro-Choice. That should tell you something right there. Now I'm not saying that there are not Pro-Life Dems or Pro-Choice Republicans, but the party as a whole is Pro-Choice. Ryan is an avid Catholic, and he follows the morals of the Church avoutly. Biden thinks that religion shouldn't get in the way of politics. He does not even think about the Church's morals and standards. And while Ryan might say how he disagrees with certain things the Church stands for, I completely understand that. Besides, as shown in the 2008 election, a lot of Catholics seem to be hypocritical. There is no reason not to vote for Romney.
I have already voted by absentee ballot. Yes I held my nose. One of the two is clearly more prolife than the other. I did hold my nose and it has been received and for me it is over. This is for all those who are prayerfully deciding. Neither candidate respects our faith. Let the Spirit lead us. My prayer is that we all remember that there is only one God and that we are his children. I do not put my faith in earthly princes only God.