Pray for healing and reconciliation

I am writing this column on Monday, Nov. 2 (All Souls Day), the day before Election Day. Many people are calling this election one of the most consequential in recent history given the very different visions for America being espoused by the candidates and major political parties. Election Day will be behind us by the time this appears in the Sooner Catholic. Hopefully the outcome of the major races will be clear by then. 

If the disturbing events of 2020 are predictive, we unfortunately can expect that no matter who wins the hotly contested presidential race there will be a continuation of the massive protests that have been so characteristic of this pandemic year. God forbid that any frustration over the outcomes results in violence. 

As Catholics we take our civic responsibilities seriously. Voting is a precious right. We recognize that an important element in exercising that right responsibly is to be sure that we do not compartmentalize our faith by putting it in a box and leaving it outside the voting booth. 

Rather, in order to truly become light to the world and salt for the earth we ought to seek to exercise our faith and our civic responsibility in ways that give public witness to the vision for human dignity, human destiny, a just society and human flourishing that our faith offers rooted in the revelation that we have received in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. 

In a society that is increasingly secular and characterized by unbelief, even believers run the risk of falling under the influence of a “practical” atheism. Historically, Americans have been a religious people. While many Americans no longer go to church with the same frequency as was common a generation or two ago, a growing number of those who do consider themselves church going Christians and even Catholics, today regard faith and religion as a strictly private affair.

Practical atheism does not deny the existence of God. It simply acts as if God does not exist. It excludes faith from public life, considering it only something for individual believers to be concerned with in their private affairs. 

Too often today, Christianity is appreciated as little more than a set of rules and rituals to be followed, or an organization to belong to, or a set of doctrinal statements to which we assent. That is a caricature of a truly robust Christian faith. Christian faith, rooted in a saving encounter with the person of Jesus and animated by his indwelling Spirit, enables Christians not only to see some things differently, but rather to see everything differently! It is to see with new eyes. When that overarching Christian vision is lacking other things take its place. 

Given the intensity of the political discourse that we have witnessed recently, it is clear that politics has become one of those things. Political fervor has taken on a quasi-religious intensity. It has become a source of division and discord. Political decisions are consequential. But, in the end, they cannot account for everything. We already have a Savior. 

Nearly half of our country is going to be disappointed with the outcome of these elections. Let us pray that our nation may turn again to Jesus Christ and, aided by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, find healing and reconciliation to bind up the wounds that have been suffered during this difficult time. May God bless America.