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From the Pastor's Desk
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This weekend you'll find not just one, but two, inserts in the bulletin.
One insert is our parish's Annual Report. Each autumn, we provide a financial summary of the preceding (July to June) fiscal year. As in previous years, we are able to say that our Offertory and parishioner gifts covered our operational expenses. Because of some Covid funds spread over two years and the decision to fix the parking lot, the details are a bit complicated. But, as you will see, the "bottom line" is that we continue to pay the bills and put a little into savings each year.
The other insert is the Focus publication of the Michigan Catholic Conference. It prepares us for the election by noting the Church's positions on a number of issues (Education, Criminal Justice, Care for Creation, and more). In particular, as you would expect, this autumn's Focus deals primarily with Proposal 3.
If you recall back to the weekend of September 10-11, when the Bishop's letter was read at each Mass, you might remember that I offered three thoughts before reading the letter and one afterward. Initially, I offered a reminder that the "separation of church and state" prohibition on church involvement in electoral politics applies only to elections for office (both partisan and nonpartisan). Issue advocacy -- including taking a position on a ballot proposal -- is something the Church has every right to do, and has done in Michigan for decades. Think of it this way: Suppose something poses a moral question. Then suppose political groups begin taking various positions on the moral question. It doesn't thereby cease to be a moral question, nor is it somehow converted into a mere political issue that lacks a moral dimension.
Another preliminary comment concerned the opaque nature of the language that will appear on the ballot. This is a point of vital importance, and the MCC Focus explains it well. Proposal 3 is not a mere reinstallation of what we lived under for the decades of Roe v Wade. It would go way beyond that. Thus, as I mentioned back on September 10-11, the backers of Proposal 3 are working hard to conceal the true nature of this measure, while its opponents only need to make Michigan voters aware of what it really would do.
My third preliminary comment was a reminder of the Bishop's call to prayer and fasting. Please try to say a daily Rosary. Please fast -- if you can't fast from food, perhaps fast from YouTube, or one of your news sources, or from a small part of your preferred daily routine. Of course, fasting from food is the most direct form of fast -- perhaps try living the Lenten rules during the month that remains before the election. But please do pray. And please do fast.
After reading the Bishop's letter on September 10-11, my concluding thought was that this call to protect unborn, vulnerable life in the mother's womb isn't just an isolated position, unrelated to other aspects of the Gospel. All that Christ teaches -- back to front, top to bottom, side to side -- is a unified message. The Savior calls us to a radically kind and gentle way of life -- something the world had hitherto never experienced. And He calls us to a radical degree of trust. Faced with uncertainties of life, He asks us to trust Him more than we trust anyone, including ourselves or our preferred political or social organizations.
As we say each year around election time, we can be all sorts of things -- gardeners, runners, travelers, followers of a political party, fans of a sports team, readers, videogamers. But if we are to be Catholic Christians -- followers of the Risen Savior -- then we need to put Him first, as He says throughout Scripture.
Sometimes, in an election race, a voter must choose between two imperfect candidates, neither of whose positions entirely align with Church teachings. This year, though, our choice is clear. We have a ballot proposal that would short-cut the legislative process by inserting into our state constitution an unlimited right of abortion, wiping out a number of the prudent protections that have been in place during the Roe v Wade era. Please vote No.
