28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B 2024

It’s easy to feel discouraged these days, especially as we witness rising division in our country.  This division becomes even more evident during election seasons, as politicians often exploit it to gain support.  With the constant noise from our leaders, many struggle with deciding who to vote for, while others feel confident in their choice.  Some are pleased with the candidates, while others are not.  The confusion can feel overwhelming.

But we must always remember that this world is not our final home.  While we are called to love and care for our country, we are ultimately made for something greater.  So, how do we exercise our right to vote, keeping in mind our ultimate goal—union with God?  Between this weekend and next weekend, I will explore how we as Catholics can navigate the upcoming election, not by endorsing any candidate, but by offering principles to guide our decisions.  Today I want to preach on the foundation of these decisions which is our conscience.

We are always obliged to follow our conscience, including when we vote.  This shouldn’t be controversial.  We all agree that we must act according to our conscience in all things.  I can’t imagine someone telling me, “I disagree.  I prefer to act against my conscience and do what I perceive to be wrong.”

But what exactly is conscience?  The Church defines it as “The most secret core and sanctuary of a man.  There he is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his depths.  In a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbor” (Gaudium et Spes, 16).  It is through our conscience that we discern the moral quality of our actions—knowing what is good and what is evil.

However, while God speaks to us through our conscience, we must also recognize that our conscience is not infallible.  Two people might arrive at different conclusions about the same action.  Someone might judge an action to be good or morally neutral, whereas someone else might see it as evil.  Therefore, while conscience helps us perceive the truth, it does not determine the truth.  To assert that truth is whatever our conscience says would be to embrace relativism—the belief that there is no objective truth, only individual truths which vary from person to person.  According to relativism, truth is a matter of subjective taste and opinion.

We hear this in phrases like, "Let’s agree to disagree" or "You have your truth, and I have mine.”  But this thinking leads us astray.  If relativism were true, even the most heinous acts could be justified.  Under relativism, someone could defend homicide or any other grave evil, simply claiming that it aligns with their "truth." After all, if truth is not objective and is merely a matter of subjective opinion, who am I to tell someone else that homicide is evil?  Who am I to tell them they are wrong?  But we all recognize the absurdity of this.  We all recognize that there are grave evils regardless of opinion.  We recognize that there is an objective truth binding us all.  This same objective truth applies to all evils, not just homicide.

If conscience doesn’t define truth, and if truth is objective, then it is clear that we have a duty to properly form our consciences so that they align with the truth.  But how do we do this?  By listening to God’s voice as He speaks through His Church.

Jesus promised to remain with us until the end of the age, and He fulfills that promise by giving us His Church—the visible Body of Christ on earth.  Yet, some people in their minds separate Christ from His Church, seeing the Church as merely a human institution that can be dismissed when its teachings conflict with personal opinions.  They see the Church as nothing more than a practical organization that provides a community for those who love Jesus.  And so, they think, if I reject a teaching of the Church, I am not rejecting Christ because the Church and her teachings are not inseparably connected to Jesus.  I can be united with Jesus and at the same time reject the teachings of His visible Catholic Church.  This is a serious error.  Christ and His Church are inseparable.  Jesus has given the Church infallible authority in teaching matters of faith and morals.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying that something is true simply because the Church teaches it to be true.  Rather, I am saying that the Church teaches what she does because it is true and because Jesus promised to protect His Church from error.  According to St. Paul, the Church is “the pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).  If I reject a teaching of the Church, I reject Christ.  We must have the humility to recognize that when we disagree with the Church, it is we, not the Church, who are in error.

There is never a conflict between following God and following His Church.  God has given us a sure guide in matters of faith and morals, and through the Church, He continues to speak to us today.  We are obliged to follow our conscience, but first and foremost, we are obliged to properly form our consciences so they are aligned with what is true and good.  If we want to follow Jesus and be faithful disciples, we should take great care in what the Church teaches.  Because what the Church teaches is what Jesus teaches.  This includes what the Church has to say regarding how we ought to exercise our right to vote, which I will talk about in more detail next week.