West Bend, WI – Dear Parishioners, With the presidential election just a few weeks away, it would behoove all of us to spiritually prepare for the continued escalation in political tension and division. Perhaps it’s helpful to take a step back and search for a broader perspective to help us negotiate the particular circumstances in which we find ourselves in 2024.
Through the centuries, Catholics have had to live under a vast assortment of political arrangements. Some of these have governments have persecuted Catholics; some came to openly profess Catholicism; some have tended to push Catholicism into the private sphere so as to maintain religious pluralism; still others have attempted to absorb Catholic principles while also respecting constitutional religious liberties.
In the history of America, Catholics have had to find a way to vote within an ever-shifting (mostly) two-party system. Because Catholicism has never mapped perfectly onto any major party, Catholics have always been a little uneasy when at the polls. It’s important to remember this as we look to the 2024 presidential election, which is perhaps making Catholics even more unsettled than usual.
The millions and millions of dollars that the candidates spend on their campaigns has the undesirable effect of fomenting something of a political hysteria. We must be very cautious to avoid giving ourselves over to this. Our political commitments are secondary to our religious commitments. The latter, which are founded upon the supernatural, are eternal and must guide the former, which are merely temporal.
This helps us relax and move forward, knowing that our personal political commitments will always fail to perfectly satisfy (just as our political arrangements on earth are always imperfect).
https://www.washingtoncountyinsider.com/category/local-news/
As you have surely heard many times, we are in the world but not of the world. We need to engage our present times in order to extend the reign of Christ, but all the while realizing that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). And that’s because Jesus told us, “I have chosen you out of the world” (Jn 15:19).
Our only lasting home is the kingdom of God. Our task on earth is to allow the grace of God to flow through us, transforming this world (and all its structures) more and more to reflect the kingdom of heaven. Of course, one of the many ways we accomplish this task is through voting. Before going to the polls, it’s important to remember our serious responsibility of forming our consciences in accord with the truths of our faith.
Click HERE to read the rest of Rev. Strand’s column.
The ultimate choice is between Light and darkness, good and evil.