Homily, September 2, 2012 - Forming your conscience to vote as a Faithful Catholic

           Chocolate or Vanilla…Pepsi or Coke.  Wait a minute, this sounds strangely family…did someone switch my homily with Father Vince’s from last week?

Well, not really.  I’m just refreshing your memory on Fr. Vince’s homily from last week about choices.  We heard about the people of Israel choosing to follow the one true God, or the god of other nations.  We also heard about the many followers of Jesus choosing to leave, but Peter making the choice to follow Jesus.  Fr. Vince encouraged us that in making choices we need to make the choice to follow God.  

In the next few months we will have some important decisions to make regarding the upcoming elections.   How do we choose to follow God in making the decision of which candidate to vote for?  This question came to me following the visit to my sons back to school night.   In meeting with his social studies teacher she said current events would be studied, with the election being a major one this year.  I asked her how students are to be informed on issues important to Catholics so they know how to be faithful to God in choosing a candidate to vote for?   She said that would be a great idea and the next day responded back asking me for resources to help with this.  I dug in and sent her some and now I will be sharing them with you. 

As Catholics, we must form our conscience based on the teachings of the Church to help us to understand what the critical issues are and what the Church’s teachings are regarding these issues.    To help form our conscience we must rely on Scripture, Church Teaching, and prayer.

What comes to mind when you think of word conscience?  I can’t help but think of the days of my youth watching Saturday morning cartoons of Bugs Bunny with the little “good” angel telling him the right thing to do and the “bad” devil coaxing him down the wrong path.   This is an image of what we may go through in mind & heart discerning the choice between what is good & evil, and hopefully always choosing the good. The Catechism tells us that conscience is a judgment of practical reason that helps us to recognize and seek what is good and to reject evil.  Said another way, it is making the decision to do the right thing.  

In today’s first reading Moses calls on the people to “hear the statutes and decrees that I am teaching you to observe, that you may live”, and references the Ten Commandments handed down by God that should observed without adding or taking away.   He tells the people that God is faithful standing with us as we search for what is right in seeking the truth, “For what great nation is there that has gods to close to it as the LORD, our God”.  To understand what is right we must have a good understanding of what Scripture and Church teaching says about a particular issue.  A good question to ask is:  What are the “statutes and decrees” that affect how the unborn, poor, vulnerable, and sick are to live?

In the Psalm today, “One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord”, reminds us that when we make a decision we need to discern what is just.   How do the decisions we make enhance the life and dignity of each person made in the image of God, especially in light of those who are weak, unborn, poor, and the migrant?  We must examine the facts of the issue and consider what is good and just to do.

Once we have studied what Scripture and Church teaching regarding a particular issue, and discern what is just, we also must pray and reflect to further help form our conscience.  We must “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls”.  The takes some time and is a process.  We may not necessarily agree with Church teaching due to our upbringing or influence of the culture.  But Jesus left us his Church to be our guide, and if we are attentive to listen God’s voice in quiet prayer, it can help to discern God’s will on a particular issue rather than our own will. 

In going through these steps to form our conscience we must be sincere in our hearts to follow God’s will.  Jesus warns that, “This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. “  The Pharisees and Scribes were just going through the motions with keeping their religious traditions.  We must be careful not to do this in forming our conscience to validate the decision we have already made, or not being serious about seeking the truth.  Conscience formation is a lifelong obligation that we must be committed to continually do.  We must be doers of the word, and not just hearers only. 

            In summary to form our consciences we must desire to embrace what is good and true.  We must study Scripture and teaching of the Church, as outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  We must examine the facts and background of the issues at hand and the choices we have to address them.  Finally we must pray and reflect to discern God’s will for the situation.

            This sounds like a lot given all the responsibilities that all of us have with work, kids activities, and keeping up with a home.  Fortunately our Bishops have done a good job in making available resources to understand the issues that we should be concerned about through their statement, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. This statement outlines a number of issues about which we should form our consciences. Some of these include:

•            Continued destruction of unborn children through abortion, euthanasia, and care for the elderly, vulnerable, sick, or unwanted;

•             Renewed efforts to force Catholic ministries—in health care, education, and social services—to violate their consciences or stop serving those in need;

•            Efforts to redefine marriage and enact measures which undermine marriage as between one man and one woman AND an institution essential to the common good;

• An economic crisis which has devastated lives and livelihoods, increasing unemployment, poverty, hunger, deficits and debt, AND the duty to respond in ways that protect the poor and future generations;

•            The failure to repair a broken immigration system with comprehensive measures that promote respect for law, human rights and the dignity of immigrants and refugees, and which keep families together, and advance the common good;

•            Wars, terror, and violence which raise serious moral questions about the human and moral costs of force, particularly in regards to the Holy Land and Middle East.

I am reading, and encourage you to read, the bishops’ statement, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.  It is available on the U.S. bishops’ website and the web address is in today’s bulletin, Faithful Citizenship.  This website has a variety of resources that can be read online or printed out, both the full version of Faithful Citizenship and summaries.  For those who are more media orientated there are multiple videos, and there are even some specifically for youth with a quiz to test what you have learned.  (Hint this may be good for parents to use to teach you children and help learn yourself)

By preparing for the elections by studying these resources and reflection in prayer, we can let our faith shape our politics and not the other way around.  There will be some prayer cards available after Mass with a prayer prepared by the bishops and also the 7 issues outlined in my homily. Please join me in trying to form and act on our consciences in this election year.   In a free country it is our duty as faithful citizens of God’s kingdom.   May God bless you!