It’s my least favorite time of the year when antagonistic, badly-behaved politicians claim to have what America needs by bombarding the airwaves, commercials, and billboards. Rather than bringing peace and assurance that we are in good hands, I cringe.

As a veteran mother of five and grandmother of sixteen, calming the mom in me in the face of such ornery behavior, makes me want to put them all in time out—indefinitely. I am finding it difficult to understand how you can presume to run our nation yet fail so miserably to be shining examples to its citizenry. We deserve better than this.

In forty years of voting, I have observed a change in tactics, as candidates focus more on being cool using cheap parlor tricks, rather than demonstrating what they have already accomplished and will do in the future. Some folks still vote like they did in junior high based on superficial popularity, or misguided alliances. We must seek to elect persons of integrity. Their track record and achievable plans to unite this vast, diverse nation, protect us from our enemies, and promote mutual care for one another is of the utmost importance. Who cares if they are likable or not- can they get the job done. We should never take lightly the privilege of participating in the election process.

Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR does a series on Hallow called Daily Holy Spirit. Today, he spoke about the Gift of Understanding, and I realized how much we should all pray for that gift, especially now. “Understanding grasps the truth of our faith, the truth of being Catholic, and the truth of the teachings of the Church. Through understanding, we gain a certitude about our beliefs that moves beyond just faith. We begin to comprehend how we are to live as followers of Jesus.”  And may I suggest, vote like followers of Jesus. Furthermore, he writes that “a follower of Jesus is not confused by our culture’s conflicting messages.“

This gives us a great starting point for the necessary discernment and prayer before electing the President of the United States.  

As a Catholic Christian, I am a citizen of heaven before I am a citizen of the U.S. After all, heaven is my hope and eternal destination. Here and now is only the journey. However, decisions made by my actions or inaction impact the end game, heaven or hell.

To form a solid conscience, we must be able to recognize truth and that means a lived relationship with Christ.

Fr. Dave mentions “the truth” several times, “the truth of our faith, the truth of being Catholic, and the truth of the teachings of the Church.”

I’ve met countless Catholics over the years who know very little about their Catholic faith. I was that Catholic for many years until I got hired to work as a youth minister by the Church. I realized very quickly that I had better get to work and study the truth of the faith I proclaim.

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence…” 1Pet 3:15

The surprising result was the more I learned, the hungrier I became. It’s never too late to rediscover your Catholic faith. I invite you to try and you will no doubt be blown away by her genius! The brilliance of Catholicism could have only come from God

Let’s talk about that “truth” word. Fr. John Hardon S.J. writes, “Peace of mind is the experience of possessing the truth.” What is truth? Truth is defined as “agreement of the intellect with reality.”

Truth is not a feeling or opinion that is fluid and ever-changing. Fr. Hardon states, “We have a right to the truth because we have the duty to save our souls. That is why God became man, to enable us to reach heaven. Christ, we repeat, is the truth. By our obedience to Him, we attain our eternal destiny.”

Let’s recap. By possessing the truth, we can have peace of mind, (boy we need that). Jesus Christ is truth itself, and when we live in that truth, we get heaven for eternity. What gets in the way?

 We do.

We sin by breaking God’s commandments, make up excuses and peddle our own perverted version of truth, causing further confusion.

So, we’re screwed? No. Just because we’ve made a sinful mess of things over time doesn’t mean we are doomed. Christ, the Second Person of the Trinitarian God, freely took all of our sinfulness and transgressions, (past, present and future) upon himself and nailed them to the Cross. Out of love, he freely died in our place to pay the price we owed for our disobedience. Thank you, Jesus.

That’s good news, we’ve been redeemed. Our grateful response should be, know Jesus so we can know better, and do better.

“We have a right to the truth because there is so much untruth being taught…” (Hardon) We deserve the truth, the whole truth and, nothing but the truth so that we can make informed decisions.  I’ve linked the full article by Fr. Hardon.  We must learn and grow in our faith, live in Christ and thus witness His love and truth to a perplexed world.

“A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it.” David Stevens

When we know the truth, we can vote with a well-formed conscience.

I would be remiss not to mention the importance of prayer for all those running for office. “Ewww!” You might say, “I can’t stand that person.”

Not a valid reason, to withhold prayer.

“First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God, our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth.” (1Tim 2:1-4)

Decide today whom you will serve, God or the politics of our day.

PLEASE join us in praying for our country and for the upcoming election.

Our prayers matter.