My Dear Nieces and Nephews,
Twice a week I write a pastor’s letter to my parishioners. “September Is For Movies” were some inspiring movie suggestions for eyeballs bored with Netflix. I wrote “Who Do You Say That I Am?” a five-part reflection on Jesus’ question, and a three-part “How to Get More Out of the Homily” series. https://nativity.org/faith-reflections
This particular pastor’s letter is to you, my eleven nieces and nephews. On Monday, the oldest and the youngest of you turned 27 and 9 years old (same birthday every year, what a fine coincidence). You are growing up! In a few short years, it will be your turn to shape our society. With your future in mind, I want you to know what I am doing this election season to live out the Scout motto, “Always leave the campground cleaner than you found it.”
Besides being your uncle, I am a Catholic priest and pastor which means I sanctify, govern, and teach. I sanctify when I preside over the sacraments, which includes a few of you for the Sacraments of Baptism and First Communion. Maybe Matrimony is next? I govern when I oversee the parish staff and ministries for the mission of the parish. And I teach when I preach and write and talk about church teaching on faith and morals, what we believe and how we live based on our beliefs, including our political activity.
Our Catholic political responsibility is built on four pillars: the dignity of the human person, subsidiarity, common good, and solidarity. These terms deserve study, but for now know that these pillars are why we Catholics are impassioned for human life, peace, marriage and family life, religious freedom, preferential option for the poor, health care, migration, and the environment, to name a few things.
I take seriously my responsibility to talk about Catholic Church teaching on politics and form my people’s consciences accordingly so that they are leaven in our society. What I teach is what the bishops teach. They do not tell us who to vote for. They do tell us that we must cultivate a well-formed conscience and the virtue of prudence. We must do good and avoid evil, and we must make moral choices informed by our Catholic faith. These are non-negotiable.
I love that our Church teaching, in contrast to the partisan attacks, outrage, sound bites, media hype, and sky-is-falling fear, is hopeful, respectful, and factual. The US bishops’ teaching document on political responsibility is called “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”. Let me finish with a word about this document title.
“Forming Consciences” means more than forming our own conscience according to Church teaching. “Just as Catholics are called to form their individual consciences, they can also serve as a voice of conscience to the entire political process.” Bread without yeast is flat and hard. Bread with yeast makes a good sandwich! Like leaven in bread, we propose values and views for the common good. We have a particular responsibility to be a voice of conscience to the political organizations that we belong to.
“For Faithful Citizenship” says that our political activity is guided by the light of faith. Our faith tells us that all are children of God. Rather than passive citizens or scorched-earth citizens, we faithful citizens are called to love our neighbor even as Christ loves us. Mother Theresa cared for the poorest people in Calcutta. She said that she was not called to be successful. She was called to be faithful. Like her, our faithful citizenship puts our faith in action. It means persistent and loving witness with the confidence that God’s will for us be done.
I pray that you grow up with formed consciences for faithful citizenship. I hope that you become informed and vote in every primary election and general election, and that you encourage your friends to vote. Who knows? You might work for a campaign, help protect the integrity of our election system, or even run for public office.
“In the Catholic tradition,” our bishops write, “responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.” Or as the Scouts say, “Always leave the campground cleaner than you found it.”
That’s it. I pray for you daily. Know that I love you.
Uncle Dave
NATIVITY UPDATE
Beware of Fake Catholic Websites. A website purporting to be Catholic is featuring stories and other information from around Florida. The website is part of a network that uses content from diocesan newspapers and websites without permission. Florida Catholic Tribune is a product of Franklin Archer, a Chicago-based media company that publishes hundreds of business and local secular news websites around the country. News reports in 2019 revealed that these websites tend to foster a political agenda. To view official communication channels from the Diocese of Orlando see https://www.orlandodiocese.org/ . To view the official Catholic newspaper in Florida see https://thefloridacatholic.org/ . To learn about the Church’s non-partisan position on faithful citizenship, www.usccb.org.
Nativity has a half dozen study groups starting this week to reflect on living our faith through our political action. You can find a study group at a convenient time either in person or via zoom. https://nativity.org/pastors-chat.
Look for our annual financial report this weekend in the parish bulletin and website. Let me know any questions or comments about our parish finances.
