Voting
November 3, 2024
Jesus Christ: King of Kings, and Lord of Lords ~
Notice how Jesus Christ is a King and not a President? The Kingdom of Heaven is a monarchy not a democracy. There’s never been an election in heaven, and never will. There, God rules as an absolute sovereign, and we’re grateful for that because He’s infinitely good and perfect. If we had to govern heaven, we’d mess it up and it wouldn’t be heaven anymore. With that said, the people in heaven participate in that kingdom according to their state in life. They aren’t wall flowers and certainly are not slaves. They are enthusiastic participants in God’s will there and through intercession on earth. That’s because God has given to angels and men intellect and free will to work with Him in the glorification of heaven and earth, as well as the salvation of souls. Hence the intercession of the angels and saints on our behalf. If it is true that those in heaven are loving, responsible citizens of Christ’s Kingdom, then it holds true that those of us wanting to get into that Kingdom need to be loving and responsible citizens here below.
While democracies are rare throughout human history, they have existed for thousands of years in fits and starts, inevitably collapsing. Fundamentally, they are not oriented toward God and His Truth, but toward man and his edification. Living for ourselves and not for God, ultimately ends badly for individuals and societies. That’s where good Catholic Christians come in.
From the founding of our country to the present we have had the responsibility to vote for our policy makers, from the local level all the way up to the President. When we have one candidate that is more likely to do good than the other, then we should vote for the one we think will do more good – in God’s eyes! When we have a ballot measure that is more likely to do good than evil, then we should vote for it, while the opposite is true too. Of course, we don’t always know what the greater good might be, and sometimes one candidate or ballot measure can be equal parts good and bad, and sometimes our options are too flawed to vote for either. Yet we should participate if we can, if we can see an outcome that would be more pleasing to God amongst the choices.
Every year I take the time to carefully read through the Washington State voter pamphlet that is mailed to us, and make as informed a decision as I can as to which candidate or ballot measure I can support. In some years, I can’t support either candidate for a particular office, or a particular ballot measure, yet there are different races and ballot measures in every election that I can vote for, because I am confident in the greater good of that candidate or ballot measure over the other. In doing so, I am participating in a responsibility toward God and my fellow man, according to my state in life, just as I will one day in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is my hope that you, too, will fulfill this responsibility to vote until you die, or until our democracy is no more, whichever comes first.
Please take the time this year and every year to carefully read through the voter’s pamphlet and make an informed decision as to which candidates and ballot measures you’ll vote for and which ones you won’t. There are two great helps in this discernment: go online to Life Pac at www.lifepac.org and look for SW Washington; then go to https://ivoterguide.com/. These are fantastic resources that enable us to see where the various candidates and ballot measures stand on the most important moral issues of our day.
May Almighty God Bless You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
