The election I didn't want
Maybe you didn't either
Good morning and happy Saturday. Today is the memorial of St. Henry. St. Henry became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1014 and he and his wife Cunegunda were both very supportive of the Church, offering large sums of money to establish new dioceses and monasteries.
We have a few large Catholic donors like this today who see the importance of building the Church. Though St. Henry might not have thought of it this way, I think back to Ave Maria Radio’s slogan: Build the Church, Bless the Nations.
Those two things need to happen in that order. It is very difficult for us to evangelize without having our own house in order. As Jesus said, “no city or house divided against itself will stand” (Matthew 12:25).
Tomorrow is the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. At Mass, we will hear readings from Amos 7:12-15, Psalm 85, Ephesians 1:3-14, and Mark 6:7-13.
Here is a calendar for the rest of the week:
Monday, 15 July - Memorial of St. Bonaventure, bishop and doctor
Tuesday, 16 July - Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (optional)
Thursday, 18 July - Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, priest (optional)
Saturday, 20 July - Memorial of St. Apollinaris, bishop and martyr (optional)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10
In the news:
The United States
Republican party backs away from pro-life stance in new platform - Christianity Today
For those who need some blue: Eucharistic coherence, round 2? - JD Flynn in the Pillar
Relics of Carlo Acutis and 6 saints coming to National Eucharistic Congress - Catholic News Agency
Links to LIVE Coverage of the National Eucharistic Congress on Relevant Radio, EWTN, and EWTN Radio.
The Vatican
For those who need some red: Synod draft surprises by omitting women’s ordination, married priests and LGBT - The Catholic Herald
The World
Gaza aid pier not scheduled to be reinstalled, DOD says- WORLD
U.S. bishops fund ordinations in Haiti as a sign of hope - Crux
The election I didn’t want
You have undoubtedly heard at this point political pundits repeat this line: “this is the rematch no one wanted.” I, like most moderates and independents, knew this was not a rematch that I wanted. Yet both of these candidates won their primaries by majority vote.
I’m not going to dive into the fact the Democrats really tried as hard as possible to push dissenting voices like Representative Dean Phillips (D-MN 3) and the fact that the Republican party in some states, such as my home of Michigan, essentially rigged the primary to nominate Donald Trump.
Putting those issues aside, it has become clear to me that these are the candidates people wanted.
In 2020, Joe Biden ran on restoring normalcy to America and said he was going to work to unite the country. Last night in Detroit, Joe Biden spoke to union workers in an event that had a lot of resemblance to a Trump rally. The crowd chanted “lock him up!” and booed the media.
Joe Biden has a lot to prove right now. Following his disastrous debate performance, Biden must prove that he is a strong, viable candidate who can beat Donald Trump. Apparently, he thinks this means turning into the Democratic version of the former president.
This is the sad state of American politics.
Friends and others have told me to evaluate the policies of each candidate and it will all of a sudden be clear as to who I ought to vote for in November. Let’s take a look at that.
President Biden last night said he would restore Roe v. Wade into federal law, effectively ensuring that abortion is available across the country and would overrule numerous state statutes restricting the abominable procedure. Should I vote Republican then?
Not so fast. Last week, the Republican party stripped pro-life and pro-family language in its platform. Donald Trump said on the debate stage that the abortion issue is back with the states and that’s where it ought to be. As much as progressive media commentators like to say that Trump will ban abortion, he and the Republicans have made it clear they have no interest in doing so.
The Democrats seem hell-bent on curbing religious liberty and fail to understand that the “separation of Church and state” doesn’t mean people cannot vote based on their religious convictions. They’ve even tried to eat their own when they dare to cross that line.
The Republicans have no idea how to ensure that Americans can afford healthcare. No, HSAs are not the answer.
I could go on and on.
We are blessed to have the opportunity in this country to participate in public life. We have the right to free speech, we can run for office, and we can vote. As Catholics, we have an obligation to promote human dignity and evangelize our faith.
Evangelize does not necessarily mean standing on a street corner shouting the Kerygma to whoever will listen. We evangelize by living our lives as faithful Christians. How do we do that? We follow the second greatest commandment; we love one another. As one (lousy) hymn/march puts it, “they will know we are Christians by our love.”
How do we love our neighbor? One way is promoting human dignity and we can do that by voting.
I’ve written Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship multiple times here on the Purple Catholic; it is even linked on the resource tab above.
The American bishops have put together this document to help aid Catholics (and all people of goodwill) by catechizing and teaching what we ought to prioritize when it comes to promoting human dignity at the ballot box.
Before someone jumps on me and says that all the issues are important: I know. But some issues are necessarily more important than others. For example, promoting the right to life is still the “preeminent political priority” of the Catholic Church in the United States. It must be so because if you do not have the right to life, you cannot guarantee any other human rights.
If human beings do not have the right to life and can be killed in the womb or euthanized in old age, you cannot also say that human beings have a right to healthcare or a job. Why not? If there isn’t enough healthcare to go around (or perhaps if you’re using too much healthcare), someone can end your life if you have no right to preserve it. This is the conundrum that many pro-abortion activists dance around. How can one say that one life is more valuable than another’s?
Here is another argument for priorities. When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus did not say, “they are all great and important.” He said, love God and love your neighbor and the rest of the law lays on these (cf. Matthew 22:37-40). You cannot honor your father and mother without first loving God and your neighbor, nor can you keep the Sabbath holy, nor any of the other commandments.
I cannot stress enough how important it is that we participate in our democratic process and that we participate with an understanding of morality and Church teaching. I don’t often tell people what to do, but I will say this: Read Forming Consciences, read Fratelli Tutti, and pray about your ballot before election day.
What I won’t do in this publication is tell you how to vote. That is not for me to dictate; it would make me no better than the radtrads or the progressives saying that you’re going to hell one way or the other.
If the election were tomorrow…. Well, I would go to Mass first, but I’m not sure I would vote for either of the two major parties. Is that throwing my vote away? I know many who think that is the case. But I have to answer for my actions when I pass into eternity. Can I honestly say I’ve promoted human dignity? Will I be able to look my creator in the face and tell him I did the best I could?
Those questions should always weigh on our hearts and minds, especially as we participate in a process that can have lasting effects on our nation and our world.
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
- St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (4:29-32) -
Have a good weekend.
Matthew
Copyright notices:
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.