29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B 2024

We are truly blessed to live in America.  Despite the divisions and brokenness we see, we enjoy many rights and privileges that others around the world do not.  Among these is the right to vote.  Yet, with every right comes responsibility, and voting is no exception.  So, what is our responsibility in this regard?

As citizens, we help shape the government which is entrusted with promoting and protecting the common good.  But what exactly is “the common good”?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (CCC 1906).  There are three key elements to the common good: respect for the rights of individuals, the well-being of the community, and the peace and stability that justice brings (cf.  CCC 1907-1909).  In essence, the common good requires concern for human dignity, healthy relationships among individuals, and justice within the community.

If our government is tasked with promoting the common good, we have the duty to elect leaders who will uphold these values—leaders who respect individual rights, promote human flourishing, and work for peace.  As I preached last week, our consciences must guide our voting, but first, we must form them properly.  Conscience is not infallible, and listening to Scripture and the Church is essential.  To reject either is to reject Christ Himself.

I want to speak on few key points of our responsibility regarding our right to vote in order to prepare us for the upcoming presidential election.

The first point: remember that Jesus is our true King—not the president.  Our ultimate goal is to seek first the Kingdom of God and bring His will to bear in the public sphere.  Every time we pray the Our Father we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Regarding politics there are two common temptations that we must avoid as Catholics.  The first is that we care too much about politics.  Some can be so invested in politics that they begin to look at their faith through the lens of politics.  They allow a candidate or political party to shape their values and decisions rather than Christ and His Church.  But whoever sits in the White House is never going to be as important as to who sits on the throne of my heart.  We must take care that politics do not eclipse and take precedence over our faith.  This is a temptation for both the right and the left.  The second temptation to watch out for is that we care too little about politics.  Remember: we have the obligation to care for the common good, to be the light of the world and salt of the earth.  And so while politics should not take precedence over our faith, we have the duty to be engaged in politics to one degree or another and apply the values of our faith to the political sphere.  Mindful of both temptations we must remember that Jesus is our true King and we are tasked with bringing the presence of His Kingdom in this world.

The second point: We are not single-issue voters.  Catholic social teaching calls us to care for a wide range of issues: the dignity of all human life—born and unborn, care the poor and the marginalized, maintaining the sacredness of marriage and family life, and care for the environment.  We are not single issue voters.  We care about all issues of justice.  However, it is crucial to understand that not all issues carry the same moral weight.  While we must consider many issues, we must also recognize that some are more fundamental than others.  There are some issues that are so foundational to the common good that a candidate’s position might disqualify them from receiving our vote even if their position on other issues might align more closely with Catholic values.

The bishops of the United States have said that “The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone” (Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, introduction).  It is not possible to have society of justice, a society focused on the common good, when an entire group of human beings do not have the right to life.  You cannot have the right to sustenance and a fair wage, the right to worship, or the right to a safe society if you do not first have the right to live.  Many Catholics may disagree on the best process to solve racism, the immigration crisis, care for the environment, and other social issues.  But we cannot disagree on the fact that every single person has the right to life.  This is non-negotiable.  We are not single issue voters but not all issues carry the same moral weight.  For the sake of time I will not go into all of the Church’s arguments against abortion in this homily and I pray that the evil of abortion is not something of which I need to convince you.  Nevertheless, I will provide a bulletin insert next week laying out in more detail the Church’s teachings regarding abortion so that we all have a better grasp on this issue.  Pope Francis has said that “Abortion is murder.  Scientifically it’s a human life.  The textbooks teach us that.  But is it right to take it out to solve a problem?  This is why the Church is so strict on this issue because accepting this is kind of like accepting daily murder” (September 15th, 2021 interview).  We need to work diligently as Catholics to rid our nation of the scourge of abortion.

The third point: there may never be a perfect candidate whose policies will align perfectly with all Catholic social teaching.  It is legitimate to vote for the lesser of two evils or, to put it another way, vote for one whose policies and values align more closely with Catholic social teaching albeit incompletely.  Perhaps we find ourselves in a position where both of the two leading candidates, one of which will win, are undesirable and very bad.  If that is the case then we may choose to vote for the candidate who will cause the least amount of damage to the common good or, to put it another way, to vote for the candidate who will promote the common good more than the other.  If our conscience deems that neither viable candidate are acceptable, a Catholic may vote for neither of the lesser of two evils if they believe that that is the best course of action for promoting the common good.

The last point I will make is that we are called to love those who disagree with us.  Perhaps you have a family member or friend who disagrees with your opinions or views.  This is an incredibly contentious election.  But regardless of the outcome, regardless of disagreements, we are called to charity.  And in our conversations we need to be kind and gentle.  Belligerence and harsh words rarely help win someone over to our side.  Be kind.

Perhaps we dread the upcoming election.  I am willing to bet most of us are tired of all the vitriol and division the presidential election stirs up.  I know I am.  But in these troubling times we must remember that this world is not our home.  We are called to live with hope, orienting our lives on the life to come.  And while we still live in this world, we must work our hardest to advance the kingdom of God in all areas of our lives, including the political sphere.  May we have the courage, wisdom, and prudence to allow our consciences to be shaped by Jesus and exercise our right to vote as faithful disciples.