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October 25, 2020: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind."
                                                             -Matthew 22: 37

How does one put a well-formed conscience into practice? Obviously, it begins with prayer. Only by allowing God to begin to direct our hearts can we discern the right way to act. As I said in last week’s column, it also means seeking to understand the scriptures, the teaching of the Church, and oneself. The process of developing a well-formed conscience takes time and patience. I remember having a conversation one day with someone about this issue. When I detailed all that we have spoken about and what it takes to develop a real conscience, they responded, “That’s way too hard. There’s no way I would do that.” I believe this is not an unusual response. Most people simply want an easy way to decide. They are looking for the cliff notes version for their answers. But to live life to the full takes dedication, persistence, and determination to know the truth.

Actually, I think most people have a more difficult time trying to know themselves than trying to understand the scriptures and Church teaching. Why you believe what you believe is essential to determining why you might disagree with Church teaching. It is not enough to simply say, I do not agree. We must also realize that if we cannot agree with a teaching, we may still be acting in accord with our conscience; but we cannot publicly disagree with the Church and lead another into error. The importance of growing in self-understanding and an understanding of our faith is essential to any choices we make.

So, when it comes to voting for an individual, what do we need to do? One must first realize it is essential to know the person’s stances on the most important issues. It is necessary to know what they say about themselves and not what others say. Fortunately, in this day and age—with the internet—it is easy to find out. You simply need to go to the person’s website and look at their position on the issues. There are also non-partisan guides that will help you know where each candidate stands on particular issues. Then, it is necessary to prioritize the issues.

As Catholics we believe that not all issues have equal value. Some issues are so fundamental that they take precedence over all others. We cannot weight them and place them on scale and say that because there are so many issues I can ignore the most fundamental ones. Obviously, for human beings, issues concerning the very basics of life are our most fundamental choices. It is impossible to overstate this truth. Now, that does not mean you must vote for a particular candidate based on one issue. In the past, if I found both major candidates morally problematic, I wrote in a different person’s name. Of course, people have told me that I wasted my vote. I, of course, disagree—I prayed about it. I looked to the teachings of the Church and the scriptures, and determined that neither candidate was consistent with the Gospel, to such a degree that I could not in good conscience vote for either candidate. I take my conscience very seriously and will not act in a way that violates it.

I am not here to tell you who to vote for, or to advocate for a particular person or political party. Rather, I hope I have helped you understand how to make good choices, by voting with a well-formed conscience and allowing God to help guide your choice. And the truth is, for Catholics, what is true of voting is true of every moral decision a person must make.

This presentation over the last few weeks was not simply about the moment we are in, but rather, about a well-lived life. We simply need to hold fast to what the scriptures teach us:

 “Choose life, then,
   by loving the LORD, your God,
   heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.”

If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to ask me directly, or send your questions to me at fr.brian@chelmsfordcatholic.org.

In Christ,

Fr. Brian