ELECTION DAY
Proverbs, Chapter
28, Verse 14
Happy those who
always fear; but those who harden
their hearts fall into evil.
Fear is a different verb than in the
phrase “to fear (or revere) the Lord.” The verb means to dread an oppressor.
The saying states a paradox: those who fear in the sense of being cautious are
declared happy, whereas those who are fearless will fall into traps they did
not “fear.” In short, there is good fear and bad fear.
WASHINGTON—Cardinal
Daniel N DiNardo, of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement in
response to yesterdays mass shooting during a church service in Sutherland
Springs, Texas.
Cardinal
DiNardo's full statement follows:
"Earlier
today, we heard of the mass shooting at the Baptist Church in Sutherland
Springs, Texas. With Archbishop Gustavo GarcÃa-Siller, I
extend my prayers and the prayers of my brother bishops for the victims, the
families, the first responders, our Baptist brothers and sisters, indeed the
whole community of Sutherland Springs. We stand in unity
with you in this time of terrible tragedy—as you stand on holy ground, ground
marred today by horrific violence. We ask the Lord for healing
of those injured, His loving care of those who have
died and the consolation of their families.
This
incomprehensibly tragic event joins an ever-growing list of
mass shootings, some of which were also at Churches while people
were worshipping and at prayer. We must come to the firm
determination that there is a fundamental problem in our society. A
Culture of Life cannot tolerate, and must
prevent, senseless gun violence in all its forms. May the
Lord, who Himself is Peace, send us His Spirit of charity and nonviolence
to nurture His peace among us all."
To Pack or
Not to Pack that is the question
Catholics
and Concealed Carry[2]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in its section
on the Fifth Commandment, has this to say on self defense:
2263 The legitimate defense of persons
and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the
innocent that constitutes intentional killing. “The act of self-defense can have a double
effect: the preservation of one’s own life; and the killing of the
aggressor…The one is intended, the other is not.”
2264
Love toward
oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for
one’s own right to life. Someone
who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his
aggressor a lethal blow.
·
If
a man in self-defense uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful:
whereas if he repels force with moderation, his defense will be lawful…Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit
the act of moderate self-defense to avoid killing the other man, since one is
bound to take more care of one’s own life than of another’s.
2265 Legitimate
defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for
the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust
aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm.
Guns not only protect people from being attacked,
but they discourage people from even attempting such attacks. Part of building
the Culture of Life involves discouraging and breaking down the Culture of
Death. Guns in the hands of law abiding citizens are part of that process. Not
that I’m picturing a shooting war between the two cultures, but when people who
are steeped in the Culture of Death are unable or unwilling to carry out their
crimes because their victims are armed, then the Culture of Death is weakened.
The crime is not committed, it doesn’t end up on the news, and other
would-be-criminals don’t see it and aren’t inspired to do something similar.
The violence which Cardinal Dolan rightly condemns is lessened by the presence
of guns in the hands of ordinary citizens. Paradoxical, I know, but it’s been
shown to work time and time again. Any honest researcher will tell you that
when the law-abiding are armed, violence diminishes. As long as there is evil
in the world, people will need to be armed, and Catholics should not be afraid
to choose to carry weapons if they feel they need to.
I
would say if you are trained and an expert in weaponry and decide to pack “I
would keep it to myself” and pray you never have to use it. “Those who live by
the sword will die by the sword.”
Father Gerard, that the custom of
having thirty masses said for the dead is also widely spread in Italy and other
Christian countries. These Masses are called the Thirty Masses of St. Gregory,
because the pious custom seems to trace its origin back to this great Pope. It
is thus related in his Dialogues (Book 4, chap. 40): A Religious, named Justus,
had received and kept for himself three gold pieces. This was a grievous fault
against his vow of poverty. He was discovered and excommunicated. This salutary
penalty made him enter into himself, and some time afterwards he died in true
sentiments of repentance. Nevertheless, St. Gregory, in order to inspire the
brethren with a lively horror of the sin of avarice in a Religious, did not
withdraw the sentence of excommunication: Justus was buried apart from the
other monks, and the three pieces of money were thrown into the grave, whilst
the Religious repeated all together the words of St. Peter to Simon the Magician,
Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem—“Keep thy money to perish with thee.”
Sometime afterwards, the holy Abbot, judging that the scandal was sufficiently
repaired, and moved with compassion for the soul of Justus, called the
Procurator and said to him sorrowfully, “Ever since the moment of his death,
our brother has been tortured in the flames of Purgatory; we must through charity make an effort to
deliver him. Go, then, and take care that from this time forward the Holy
Sacrifice is offered for thirty days; let not one morning pass without the
Victim of Salvation being offered up for his release.” The Procurator obeyed
punctually.
Election
Day refers to the day on which general elections in the United States are held.
Presidential elections are held every 4 years and the elected president
will then be sworn in and take office the following January 20th, a day known
as Inauguration
Day. Election Day is always held on the first Tuesday in November in
the US.
Election
Day Facts & Quotes
·
Elections
held for federal offices only occur on even-numbered years.
·
There
is no law in the Constitution or
Federal mandate which requires electorates to vote in accordance with the
popular vote of their state.
·
There
are 538 Electoral College members. In order to win the vote for President of
the United States, a candidate must
obtain at least 270 of these votes.
·
Nobody
will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American
people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
·
Let
each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not
making a present or a compliment to please an individual--or at least that he
ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in
human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. - Samuel
Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York:
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907), Vol. IV, p. 256.
Election
Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Register
to vote prior to Election Day.
·
Attend
a local polling place and cast your vote.
·
If
voting by absentee ballot or mail-in ballot, make sure it arrives on or before
Election Day.
·
Be
informed about the candidates and new amendments on the ballot before going to
the polling place.
·
Attend
an Election Day party.
2240
Submission to authority and
co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes,
to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country:
Pay to all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due,
revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom
honor is due.
[Christians] reside in their own nations, but as resident
aliens. They participate in all things as citizens and endure all things as
foreigners. . . . They obey the established laws and their way of
life surpasses the laws. . . . So noble is the position to which God
has assigned them that they are not allowed to desert it.
The
Apostle exhorts us to offer prayers and thanksgiving for kings and all who
exercise authority, "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly
and respectful in every way."
Daily
Devotions
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