As I write, Americans are getting ready for the national elections; early voting has already started in many states.
Again this year, the experts are telling us that this will be another close election, that the country is deeply divided.
From the perspective of our ministries in the Church, we see the divisions. We also see signs that people are confused about how they should live, and about what’s going on in the world around them. Some seem anxious and afraid, some are losing hope for the future.
As our country has grown more secularized, the Church’s pastoral perspective, and Christian viewpoints generally, have become less significant in the national conversation.
But the exclusion of Jesus and the light of his Gospel comes at a high cost.
The national conversation these days seems limited to material questions of money and power and inclusion: who has it and who does not; who is participating in the benefits of society and who is not? We tend now to define problems according to what can be solved by technology, by science, medicine, or government regulations.
From a Catholic perspective, it seems we might be losing the sense of what life is truly for.
In his recent apostolic visit to Belgium, Pope Francis observed that this experience is found throughout the West.
He quoted the Servant of God Romano Guardini, who said, “The law of our truth states that the human person understands himself only if he begins from above, from beyond himself, from God, for the human person’s very existence comes from him.”
Western civilization and American democracy were founded on the truth that Jesus revealed: that the human person is the image of God, created with dignity and freedom, with the desire for the transcendent and a destiny written by God.
What defines these difficult times, and what lies underneath the divisions and despair we see in our society, is the loss of this truth.
Without God, it’s not possible to know what it means to be human, to know who we are or why we are here, what we should desire or how we should live.
When we lose the sense that we are all created by God, we also lose the sense of our common humanity. That’s one of the reasons for the suspicion and distrust we see in society, the hardening of people’s hearts, their unwillingness to work with people they disagree with.
People ask: What should the Church do now, and what do we need to do now as Catholics?
Pope Francis gave a powerful answer to that question in Belgium.
“I am here to testify that the Gospel is the life source and the ever fresh force of personal and social renewal,” he said. “It brings about harmony among all nations, among all peoples; harmony, and the ability to experience and suffer together.”
The Holy Father added: “It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone that is capable of profoundly transforming the human soul, making it capable of doing good even in the most difficult situations, of extinguishing hatred and reconciling parties engaged in conflict.”
The challenge for all of us in the Church, in this time and in every time, is to be the people we say we are.
That means waking up and deciding to live the Gospel every day, trying to love and follow Jesus with greater fidelity and purity of heart than the day before.
That means building God’s kingdom and bringing the values of his Gospel into every area of life, serving our brothers and sisters with joy and generosity.
The Gospel remains the only answer to every question. Only in Jesus can men and women find the true purpose of their lives. And only in his Gospel can our society once again discover the true worth and dignity of the human person, and the true foundation for human rights.
It is our task to bring this good news to our neighbors.
Jesus calls us to proclaim him by our words and by our lives, in season and out of season. No matter who holds political office, no matter what ideas are fashionable at the moment. And no matter what limits might be imposed on the Church and Christian viewpoints.
By our witness, and by the power of the Gospel, we make our own contribution to healing the wounds and divisions in our society. And we can help our leaders to find the courage to do what is right and seek the common good.
Pray for me and I will pray for you.
And let us entrust ourselves to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of this great country.
