Father Acervo’s Corner: November 6, 2016
1. A special welcome to Father Louis Guardiola from the Fathers of Mercy. Fr. Guardiola is here through Wednesday to lead us in our Parish Mission. He will be preaching at all of the Masses this weekend. He will also be giving a talk each night from Sunday to Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. in the church (these talks will be repeated after the 8:00 A.M. Mass Monday through Wednesday morning in case you can’t be present in the evening). All talks will be in the church. I would like for everyone to take advantage of this great opportunity for spiritual formation. Please pray for the success of the mission.
2. This is a pivotal week in our country’s history as on Tuesday, we will be electing our next president. A couple of Sunday’s ago, I made reference to a passage from the Book of Joshua. He addresses the people before his death, and he reminds them of the many blessings that God has bestowed upon them. And so given all those things, he says, “decide today whom you will serve…As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Josh 24:15).
When we walk into the voting booth, the decision that we make is not simply between one candidate and another for president. Every thought, word, and action at every moment of our life is a decision for or against God. And so our vote must be in service of the Lord as well.
While it is true that there are problems with both major candidates, it’s clear that one has a well-documented contempt for faith and God’s Church as well as a long history of promoting abortion and same-sex marriage. And while there are many issues that have been covered throughout this campaign, the Church’s position against abortion and same-sex marriage are non-negotiable. That’s because these actions are intrinsically evil and must never be promoted by the law.
Regarding abortion, the Church teaches that, regarding a law permitting abortions, it is “never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it” (St. John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, n. 73). Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide. The unborn child is always an innocent party, and no law may permit the taking of his or her life.
Regarding same-sex “marriage”, God alone is the author of marriage, and He has ordained marriage to be the union of one man and one woman. Through the sacrament of matrimony, God unites man and woman and gives them the command to “be fruitful and multiply”. No government can redefine marriage because it is not the government’s to redefine. Marriage belongs to God, and He has a plan for it. And so to support a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral.
It’s important to reemphasize that the Church’s position on abortion and same-sex marriage are non-negotiable because both abortion and same-sex marriage are actions that are fundamentally in conflict with the plan of God. So when you vote this week, “decide today whom you will serve” and make sure that your vote serves God’s interests.
3. This week is also National Vocations Awareness Week, and if this week weren’t our Parish Mission and election week, I would write more about it. There will be another time to speak about vocations, but I will just repeat what I have written earlier: God has a plan for us, and it’s our duty to discern what that plan is. At the heart of the role of parents is to not only teach the faith to their children and help them to live it; it is also to help them to figure out what vocation God is calling them to. So parents are not only instrumental to God’s plan of bringing life into the world, their children are entrusted by God to them to be educated in His ways. What path has He prepared for them?
But it starts with helping them to stay connected to their faith. Of the kids who stay connected to their faith, an overwhelmingly high percentage of them were able to do so because their parents shared their own faith with them. This is especially true if the father is involved in the faith. So parents, show your kids that faith is important. Pray with them. Give them what they need to know and love God. That will go a long way in not only helping them to stay in the Church; it will also help them to know the path that God is leading them.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Acervo