Dear Family,
So, if you are reading this on Sunday, I hope you remembered to “Fall Back.” I always think of it as nature paying me back for the hour it borrowed in the Spring when I sprung forward. I don’t spring with quite the agility I used to.
As we finally arrive at Election Day on Tuesday, it seemed to me that time was grinding to almost a halt. Have the processes of nominations and elections have been going on forever? I have this awful feeling that no sooner will we inaugurate a president in January than the process will begin all over again for 2020. We’ll probably be hearing from half the populace about the mistake the other half made.
The election might not seem at first to have much relevance to the “stuff” of a Twitch. I keep asking myself, “How does the gospel help frame this part of our lives?”
I thought the pamphlet we passed out three weeks ago, “A Guide to Catholic Voting” from Our Sunday Visitor Press summed our challenge up well.
❶ Inform yourself about the Church’s teachings. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great place to start.
❷ Inform yourself about the issues. Read the Catholic press and listen to the candidates. See where the candidates stand on critical moral and social issues.
❸ Seek input from Catholics you respect.
❹ Pray. Take your hopes, concerns, and worries to the Lord and ask for his guidance.
Hopefully you have been doing some of this heavy lifting. For me, number 4 is probably the most important, but putting it in the Lord’s hands presumes I’ve toiled at 1 through 3.
We have been so overwhelmed with the presidential politics that what they call the “lower ballot” races and issues may tend to get lost. The pamphlet again makes a great statement about how we exercise our consciences and what underpins our choices.
“The moral teaching of the Church is about more than prohibitions. We are encouraged to respond to the basic needs of human beings - food, shelter, health care, education, and employment. We are called to welcome refugees and immigrants, defend religious freedom, support marriage and family, and protect the environment.”
I think I’ve said enough and maybe ought to go and get back into the prayer mode. I’ll be asking the Lord to give us light and charity on Wednesday as well as Tuesday. Use what space is left to see God’s writing on your heart.
In Jesus,
