Obviously truth and justice took a drubbing in the elections this past Tuesday. It was a bit of a disaster. There is no sugar-coating that, no trying to put a happy face on that. There are some serious points that good Catholics and others of good will need to face.
First, I will deal with some memes and quotes stating things to the effect that "both parties are corrupt so it makes little difference who wins". That is so ridiculously simplistic as to be downright dishonest and dangerous. Only one of the two major parties has ensconced within its platform the facilitation of both unbridled baby-slaughter and the enabling of all manners of sexual perversion, not to mention the attempt to remove all mention of God from that platform. I speak of the Democrats, and they just won big-time.
Then there is the regrettable tendency to pooh-pooh the elections, stating that politics won't save the world. The adherents to this mindset forget the fact that politics is merely the application of the morals and priorities of the individual citzens. Yesterday, moral depravity took the other hand, perhaps aided and abetted by Christians who couldn't be bothered to cast their votes. It is true that politics by itself won't bring about godliness in society, but that same godliness will not happen without political involvement. The same thing can actually be said about prayer. Of course prayer is necessary, but by itself it is insufficient. We are both spirit and body; one won't do diddly-squat without the other.
I also want to address another tendency to try to disipel any discomfort regarding the elections. I am seeing quite a bit of that on social media, posted by good people. However, I believe the attempt to console others in this situation is misguided. The Book of Ecclesiates states that there is a time and season for weeping as well as rejoicing. I believe this is a time for weeping, and not for trying to mollify uncomfortable emotions. The question is now what do we do with this angst? Do we wallow in it, try to avoid it, or use it as motivation to address the ills of society and its utter rebellion against God?
Please - we simply must do away with the tendency to try to "soothe" unpleasant emotions by platitudes to the effect of "it's only our personal holiness that matters" and/or "this too shall pass". We women are more prone to this sometimes dangerous tendency than men are, I have observed. Well, just as men must bring their aggressive tendencies to heel, so to must we women submit to reason and intellect our instinct to "soothe feathers". Sometimes we need to experience and embrace these emotions to light some fires under our fannies, as it were. Ladies, often our reflexes only serve to stymie needed motivation to prayer and action. I suggest that such postings be weighed before hitting that release button.
All that being said, yes we must stop licking our wounds and get ourselves down to serious business. Are we living holy lives, or harboring secret sins, even mortal sins? Go to Confession and deal with these. If not, God's blessings upon our labors will most likely be limited, if God allows them to happen at all.
Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray the Rosary daily, as well as wear the scapular and keep the First Saturday devotions. She said that these would bring down grace for conversions. Are we doing that? If not, start right now.
Are you doing everything possible to keep Sunday holy? That means attending a reverent Mass, even if you have to travel a distance. I'd highly recommend the Tradtional Latin Mass, where it is emphasized that Mass is the Unbloody Sacrifice of Our Lord, where the sole focus is on Him and not diluted by other considerations. Surely we can take one hour to give Our Lord that sole focus. And dress appropriately. Ladies, skirts or dresses. Men, suits and ties. Sunday Mass is literally the most important thing we do in a week.
Of course we cannot pretend to be holy without taking part in civic affairs. The latter is our just due to our larger community. It is where we can bring the Commands of Our Lord to bear in societal life. It is also where we can build a larger community in which to raise our children.
