My bulletin reflections have always been on the Sunday readings.  Given the importance of the upcoming election, I am making an exception this time, using a reflection that is also in the November Pius Press, which you should receive this week. 
 
Pope Francis has urged us not to be a one-issue voter, but to use Catholic social principles to evaluate candidates, since no one candidate or agenda is perfectly aligned with our principles. As we decide whom to vote for, I invite us to reflect on the qualities of the Church we name in the Creed, qualities which capture the gist of Catholic social principles: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.
 
one
Bringing about peace and unity is central to living our faith.  We need leaders who will lead us to unity, not divide us.
 
holy
Holy is used in the sense of living Gospel values, that is, showing love of God through love of neighbor, especially the most vulnerable.  Some of the most vulnerable in our society are those in danger or great need, for example the unborn, refugees, immigrants, homeless, unemployed, etc.  We need compassionate leaders who will help us protect all those who need protection.
 
catholic
It is important to notice that “catholic” is NOT capitalized in the creed.  It does not mean “Catholic” in the sense of a denomination, but rather “inclusive” or “open to all,” the literal meaning of “catholic.”  We need leaders who realize that they are responsible for and to all people, no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, or any other factor.
 
apostolic
in our faith context, this means we go out of ourselves to bring Christ to others.  For our leaders, it means they are not just concerned about themselves, their image, or their welfare, but that they promote policies that actively seek to reach those in the margins and provide the help that is needed. 
 
It is a serious responsibility to vote: please do so.  And as you evaluate candidates, please remember that we are looking for candidates who align with our Catholic principles and do their best to achieve them, candidates who promote unity, concern for all the vulnerable, and inclusivity.
 
In addition to voting, let us pray for our country in these final days before the election, that we may have a peaceful election and transfer of power.  God bless.
 
Church sign: God gave us free will to use for the common good.

Am I happy?  What makes me happy?  These are good questions to ask ourselves once in a while, because we get into patterns of living and doing things that can carry us mindlessly through life.  Our Gospel today is one that always helps me come back and ground myself in what really makes me happy.
 
The Gospel presents James and John asking Jesus for a favor.  When Jesus asks them what they want, they ask to sit at his right and left in his kingdom: in other words, they wanted to be above everyone else.  They thought that is what would make them happy.  Of course, we know that they were thinking of a different kind of kingdom than what Jesus was going to establish.  They thought that glory and power would make them happy, but that was not to be: Jesus explains that serving others is what really brings meaning, and thus happiness, to life.
 
So I reflect on people around me, asking myself who seems to be the happiest.  Inevitably, it is someone who is willing to help others, who goes out of their way to give people rides, serve on committees, etc. Someone who is not focused on things or power or recognition.  On the other hand, the least happy are those who are easily offended, who think of themselves, who want to be first.
 
Those reflections remind me of this central Gospel message: when I don’t have to be first, when I don’t need people to praise me, when I can relax and help others, I am the happiest. It reminds me to make sure I am doing all that I do for the right reason: love of God shown through love of neighbor.
 
I invite you this week to reflect: am I happy? What really makes me happy?  And let us support each other in prayer.
 
Church sign: Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances.

Our Gospel this weekend is the story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus and asks what he has to do to gain eternal life.  He has observed all the commandments, but he has a feeling that more is needed.  Jesus tells him to sell what he has, give the money to the poor, and come follow Him.  The man goes away sad.  Why?
 
I think Jesus realized that the man did not own his possessions, but rather that the possessions owned him.  We are told that Jesus loved the man, so obviously he wanted the best for him.  Jesus discerned that what the man was missing, what he needed, was to be freed from the attachments to his things.  But, unfortunately, he couldn’t do it.  Was he sad because he instinctively knew that was what he needed to do to fill the hole in his life, but yet couldn’t do it?
 
The message to us is to be careful that possessions, or the desire to acquire them, does not dominate our lives.  An example could be a father who is working all the time in order to get a lot of “things” for his family and so is not there for his children.  It is the son or daughter who is so possessed by the cell phone or computer that they have no time to help an elderly parent.  It is the person who hoards more and more things, not being able to share with others.  And so on.
 
Possessions in themselves are not bad.  We need things to live.  But that can easily take an oversized place in our lives, cutting us off from others and, ultimately, true happiness.
 
I invite us to reflect this week on our relationship with things in our lives.  Do we own them?  Or might they own us?  How can we get free?
 
Church sign: The less you have, the more you have to look forward to.

We are heavily into the pre-election season with political ads and rhetoric all over the place.  This rhetoric includes “Christian values” more than in past years.  As a result, I have been reflecting on what “Christian values” means to me.
 
“Christian values” starts with the 10 commandments, which lay out our need to honor God and treat others justly.  It is basic: we need to control our human emotions and urges so that we are not hurting others.  These laws were written in stone: they demand that we act justly.
 
Jesus added another layer to those basic values with the beatitudes.  The beatitudes are not written in stone: they are written in the heart.  They call us to go out of ourselves and be merciful, kind, generous, and forgiving in our relationships. 
 
For example, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the two
religious leaders were following the law: they avoided making themselves unclean by touching a bloodied man and so they were able to partake in the temple rituals.  The Samaritan was “moved with compassion” for the man and went out of his way to help him, even though he knew that the injured man, a Jew, would have hated him.
 
Another example is the woman caught in adultery.  The religious leaders, following the law strictly, were going to stone her to death.  Jesus reminded them that they were not “without sin” and, as a result, they walked away.  Jesus gave her another chance.  He didn’t say what she did was ok, he did tell her to “sin no more,” but he had compassion and mercy on her.
 
All of this reminds me that I am a sinner and, while the law is important and needs to be respected, I also need to have mercy and understanding, both for myself and others.  I ask myself (to use a cliché): what would Jesus do?  If I err, I would rather err on the side of being understanding, welcoming, and forgiving than on being harsh and judgmental.  For me, that is living “Christian values.”
 
How about you?  How do you navigate the fine line between justice and mercy?  As you reflect on it, are you comfortable with your approach?  What are your “Christian values”? God bless.
 
Church sign: We are called to be witnesses, not lawyers and judges.

I came across this quote on the website “Building on the Word,” which contains homilies by Fr. George M. Smiga: At the height of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was invited to address a large gathering of Union Forces who were rallying in support of the war.  The emcee who introduced the president asked him to come forward and lead the assembly in a prayer that God might be on the Union side and help win the war.  Lincoln came up to the podium and the first thing he said was “Sir, I am not really concerned about whether God is on our side.  I am very concerned whether we are on God’s side.”
 
Lincoln understood something that Joshua didn’t understand in the first reading this weekend and the apostle John didn’t understand in the Gospel.  We as humans divide ourselves into groups, identifying with those who are like us or agree with us and dismissing the others.  That is what causes wars, fights, and disagreements.  While we are forming a group of those we see as good, because they agree with us or are like us, God’s group is much larger, because God sees the good in everyone.  No one is perfect: all of us are made up of good qualities and some that aren’t so good. 
 
The challenge for us is to make our group bigger.  We can do that by listening to those that think differently than we do, honestly reflecting on what they are saying; by accepting those who are different or difficult; by trying to dialog with our so-called “enemies,” possibly turning them into friends.  These are a few strategies for making our group larger, getting it closer to the size of God’s group.
 
Our task is to help build up the Kingdom of God, the best we can.  God’s Kingdom will not have Catholics or Protestants or Jews or Muslims; it will not have Blacks or Whites or Asians or Hispanics; it will not have Republicans or Democrats; it will not have priests or deacons or religious or lay people; and so on.  God’s Kingdom will be filled with one thing: His children.  Let’s make sure everything we say and do works toward unity and peace.  That is living Gospel values!  God bless.
 
Church sign: The Golden Rule will never tarnish.