Wisdom, Love, Life, Voting and Making Good Choices

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Father Greg Paffel

A man asked Jesus “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” in last Sunday’s Gospel reading. That’s what Fr. Greg talked about — our Lord’s answer is simple, by the way, and can be boiled down to ‘be prudent’.

There’s an election looming in our country, so Fr. Greg also talked about acting as if love matters, and making prudent choices. Then he shared a prayer that I’ve had in my daily routine for a while. But (more than) enough about me. Here’s what Fr. Greg said:

Eternal Life

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What must I do?”

Well, he answers by saying he keeps all the commandments. That’s good.

And then Jesus — okay: ‘just one more thing. Go sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and follow me’.

Sounds like three things to me, but Jesus says ‘one more thing’.

Definitions and Choosing Wisely

I think we could in essence boil it down to this: be prudent.

To inherit eternal life, be prudent.

So one of the definitions of prudence by St. Thomas Aquinas is this: ‘love chooses wisely, love that chooses wisely’: that’s prudence.1

So if love chooses wisely, guess what: you’re going to honor your father and mother; oh, you’re not going to kill, you’re not going to commit adultery, you’re not going to steal, you’re not going to do all these things.

Love chooses wisely, and our first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, tells us, ‘I prayed, and prudence was given to me’. ‘I prayed, and prudence was given to me’.2

He who is the source of love — is so eager to answer our prayers. So eager to inspire us to choose wisely: that’s our God, a God who loves us and helps us to love as well.

Love, Choices, and Wisdom

Our second reading, at the end, reminds us that we have to make an account for everything at the end of our life — to Jesus, who is our judge, at the end of our life — and how is he going to judge us?

On whether we love, and chose wisely.3

Wow.

Prudence

Lord, send our spirit of prudence, a double portion of prudence, to us: in our family lives, in our personal lives; and in the life of this election, huh? Oh, my gosh. Our world could use more prayer, our nation.

So, I have a prayer for our country.4 Right here, it’s got the Blessed Virgin on the front. There are some in the back. You’re welcome to take one on your way out if you like. I’ll do this at the end of my homily.

I’ve been just thinking about some of the topics, some of the things that are going on in our election. I’ll address a few this week and probably a few next week.

Just some of those issues.

Judges, the Constitution, and Freedom

The first one I want to start with, though, is Supreme Court justices. Right?

Boy, if we want anybody to be prudent, wouldn’t it be a judge? And a judge who judges over large things, like our nation?

And so, a Supreme Court justice, that’s one of the jobs of the president, is to recommend Supreme Court justices.

So we pray for the president to be prudent in choosing, and we also pray for those judges to be prudent. And if they’re really doing their job, it’s really not about being conservative or liberal. That’s not the job of a judge.

The job of a judge is to interpret the Constitution: that’s their job; to intercept the Constitutions, and to interpret it as much like the original writers meant it. That makes a good judge.

So when you go to the election poll, think about who you want selecting the judges. Okay? Think about that.

One of the things that they end up judging a lot on are things like our First Amendment: freedom of speech, freedom of religion.5 We might extend that a little bit to freedom of conscience. Right?

I was just thinking of just a couple things in the past the Supreme Court had to make some decisions on: and depending on who’s on the court could go different directions, right?

So it depends on how they interpret the Constitution.

A Wedding Cake

One was the wedding cake company. If you remember that?

And they were being asked by two people, I don’t remember if it was two men or two women, I don’t remember, but they were asking for a wedding cake with the two men or two women on the top.

And the wedding cake company says: you know, we’re happy to make cakes and stuff, but we’re not going to put that on the top. We don’t do that.

And they went, had a case against them, they said they were being discriminatory, blah-blah-blah.6 I don’t even remember how the case turned out, to be honest.

But those are the kinds of things.

Were they able to practice their conscience as business owners, even while letting somebody else practice their conscience in who and how they get married?

Man, do we through (!) that stuff. We gotta have some wisdom, right?

And wouldn’t you want people to choose wisely, with love.

Artificial Contraception

And one of the other things was: remember the religious sisters, they were being pressed by the government of all places (!), that they have to provide contraception to their workers in their insurance packages. Right? It had to be one of the things.

And the government was imposing that on the sisters, and obviously, religious sisters — wherever you stand is one thing — but where the religious sisters were standing, their conscience was being pummeled by the government.

And so the Supreme Court justices, they made a decision on that as well: like, let it go government, they’re sisters. Okay. Get over it. That’s my language, I don’t remember all the details.7

So, we want people in the court who will judge wisely, with love, on those kinds of things.

Second Amendment and the Right to Defend Myself

And I was thinking, you know, there’s an awful lot of controversy over guns. Right? And wherever you sit and stand on guns, that’s its own thing, but sometimes they have to decide if the Constitution is being interpreted rightly.

And I don’t remember this last case, somebody said it was a win for the NRA, I don’t even know what the case was. But that’s the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms.

When I hear ‘the right to bear arms’, what I hear is ‘the right to defend myself’.

It’s not the right to go out and shoot whoever or whatever I want, it’s the right to defend myself when my life, or my family, or my property, is being threatened. Do I have the right to defend myself? That’s what I hear.8

But again, things like that go to the Supreme Court.

Abortion

Pamphlet cover: 'The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church', People of Life, the pro-life action campaign of the Catholic Church in the United States, under the direction of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. see https://www.usccb.org/resources/catholic-church-pro-life-churchAnd then of course we can always talk about abortion. Right?

Abortion.9

And I think the Supreme Court got it right. I really do.

So, the Catholic Church would say that the right of life is the most fundamental right of all.

I have this brochure here from the — all of the United States bishops, the USCCB, the United States Bishops — put together a short, little pamphlet on — what’s the name of it? “The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church” .10 Okay?

I like the tone of this. The tone here is one of compassion, but also instruction. Right?

And so I’ll just read some of this for you today, and kind of just give you a teaser. There’s some of these in back of church. There’s not enough for everybody, but there’s some of these in back, if you’re interested.

And they write:

“All persons, not just Catholics, can know from scientific and medical evidence that what grows in a mother’s womb is a new, distinct human being. All persons can understand that each human being merits respect. At the very least, respecting human life excludes the deliberate and direct destruction of life.

“Throughout her rich tradition, the Catholic Church has always been pro-life. As Saint John Paul II reminded us, we believe that ‘all human life is sacred, for it is created in the image and likeness of God.’ Aborting an unborn child destroys a precious human life which God has called uniquely into existence….”
(“The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church ” 10 People of Life, the pro-life action campaign of the Catholic Church in the United States)

And so it goes on further:

“…Our Faith also obliges us to follow … Jesus Christ….”
(“The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church ” 10 People of Life, the pro-life action campaign of the Catholic Church in the United States)

Oh, that was the command Jesus gave that young man today in the Gospel: ‘go sell what you have and follow me’. Obviously, Jesus himself is pro-life.

This is why, as a church, we are pro-life.

It’s got a nice tone to it, it’s got some quotes from some Saints and different things in here, if you want one of those, it’s a good read.

And I was thinking about abortion from a different angle this time.

Choice: and Responsibility

I was thinking, you know, people who say ‘I’m pro-choice’ — right?

They have good hearts, they have good meaning, too, you know — Wherever they’re coming from, whatever experience they have.

The problem is the premise on which they found their reasoning. The premise. That is, the beginning point from the reasoning.

So, one of the slogans that I keep hearing over and over again is “my body, my choice”. That makes a lot of sense.

It makes a lot of sense: “my body, my choice”. If I want a haircut, I go get a haircut; if it’s time to clip my fingernails, I go clip my fingernails; if I’m feeling ill or injured, I go see the doctor.

“My body, my choice” — that makes a lot of sense.

The problem is the premise. When they say “my body, my choice”, they’re forgetting that it’s actually a second body. There’s a second person. It’s that person from the embryonic state up through nine months of gestation and infancy in the womb.

That is another person that God himself brought into existence at that moment of conception.

Oh, my gosh: that’s where our faith helps us so much.

And so the premise can’t be that it’s just your body. It’s more than just your body. There’s two of you now.

And then the question becomes: do we have the right, over somebody else, living inside of us?

That’s the fight, right?

And as Catholics, we would say ‘they have dignity, and they have the right to life’. That’s where our slogan comes from.

Bodies and Rights

A second way I was thinking about this issue was “my body my choice”: well, even though I agree with that premise, it’s not always right.

If you’ve ever had somebody in your family, or a neighbor, or somebody who’s thinking about or planning suicide; do you think you should do whatever you could do to stop them?

Or do you think you should just say, ‘yeah, no big deal, go ahead, pull the trigger’.

Right?

So even though there’s a certain sense of “right” to our own bodies, you’re not going to just stand by while you watch your best friend say ‘you know, I am so tired of my left arm, I’m going to cut it off’.

No, you’re going to do something to say ‘wait a minute, let’s think about this: let’s think about this, let’s talk it through, cause from what I can tell, that left arm is pretty important’.

Now, I mean it’s different if it’s gangrened and it needs amputation.11 I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about a health arm, right?

So, the premise: the premise is “my body, my choice”, but it’s wrong, because there’s two bodies. There’s two bodies when we’re talking about pregnancy.

Which brings us back to the Supreme Court.

Roe v. Wade, the Constitution, and a Eureka Moment

They have this case, the Dobbs case I guess we call it now. And they had to address abortion.

And after they reviewed the first decision, of Roe versus Wade, and as they reviewed the Constitution, what they decided and realized was: the Constitution itself doesn’t say anything about abortion.

It doesn’t.

And so, as a Supreme Court, they decided ‘we need to not uphold Roe v. Wade, we need to kick it back down to the states’.12 And boy are there battles in the states. Right? There’s a lot of work to be done at the state level.

But that was the decision.

Let Love Choose Wisely

And so, as you go to the ballot box, as you go to pull the lever, or mail it in: just ask you (!), choose wisely. Let your love, let your discernment, choose wisely those things that most align with God.

Because Jesus says, ‘give up everything else, and follow me’.

I think Jesus is happy he doesn’t have to cast a vote. It’s like, ‘whoo! Escaped that one!’

But he’s there to help us.

So let’s go to this reading from Wisdom: let’s pray: “…I prayed, and prudence was given [to] me”. [Wisdom 7:7]

Let’s pray that prudence would be given to us, and also to our nation, as we go to the ballot box. Let love choose wisely.

And I’m going to end with this prayer. Again, this pamphlet and this prayer are in the back if you’d like one.

I’d invite you to close your eyes and bow your head with me:

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care.

Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection.

Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life.

Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God’s law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life. Amen.
(“A Prayer for Our Country”,4 from Men of the Sacred Hearts)

Video: Gospel Reading and Homily at St. Paul’s, Sauk Centre, MN; October 13, 2024

Gospel reading for Sunday, October 13, 2024; the video should start playing just before the start of this reading:

“As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

“Jesus answered him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.”‘

“He replied and said to him, ‘Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.’

“Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, ‘You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

“Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were amazed at his words.

“So Jesus again said to them in reply, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, ‘Then who can be saved?’

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.’

“Peter began to say to him, ‘We have given up everything and followed you.’

“Jesus said, ‘Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and [the] last will be first.'”
(Mark 10:17–30)

Acting as if love and neighbors matter isn’t easy, but it’s a good idea anyway:

1 ‘Prudence is love choosing wisely’, discussed in:

  • “Summa Theologiae”, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 47; St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century) translation via New Advent
  • St. Thomas quotes St. Augustine of Hippo’s De Moribus Ecclesiae Catholicae / “Of the Morals of the Catholic Church” (388) translation via New Advent

2 First reading for Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 13, 2024:

3 Thinking about last things:

  • Second reading for Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 13, 2024: Hebrews 3:12–13
  • The particular judgment, a sort of final performance review: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1021-1022

4 “A Prayer for Our Country”, from Men of the Sacred Hearts, menofthesacredhearts.org:

OriginalMy adaptation, for personal use

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care.

Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection.

Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life.

Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God’s law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life. Amen.

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this critical time, I entrust the United States of America to your loving care.

Most Holy Mother, I beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of this nation, I cry to you from the depths of my heart and seek refuge in your motherly protection.

Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of this people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life.

Grant this country the wisdom to proclaim that God’s law is the foundation on which this nation was built, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life. Trusting in your most powerful intercession I pray —

[The Memorare]

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother, to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

5 Freedom of expression, a persistently pesky proposition:

6 Dealing with homosexual/LGBTQ+/LGBTI+/LGBTIQA+/whatever issues, and a recent ‘wedding cake’ case:

7 A religious order, government preferences, contraception, being human; very briefly:

8 The situation is not, putting it mildly, simple:

9 Human beings are people, all human beings:

  • Human life is sacred, a gift from God: every human life, each human life. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258-2317)
    • Each human being is a person, no matter how young he or she is; killing an innocent person is a bad idea and we shouldn’t do it. (Catechism, 2270-2275)

10 Valuing human life, and knowing why we value human life:

  • USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
    • USCCB Committees: Pro-Life Activities
      “We proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God; that each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self and others; and that society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence.”
    • “The Catholic Church is a Pro-Life Church ”
      Pamphlet by People of Life, the pro-life action campaign of the Catholic Church in the United States, under the direction of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities

11 Life, health, responsibility, and not despairing:

  • Human life is precious, sacred, a gift from God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258)
  • Staying alive and healthy, within reason, is a good idea. (Catechism, 2288-2289)
  • Deliberate mutilation, unless done for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, is a bad idea and I shouldn’t do it. (Catechism, 2297)
  • Killing myself would be, in effect, murder; with no time later for me to repent. (Catechism, 1021-1022, 2280-2283)

However:

“2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.”
(Catechism, 2283)

12 Roe v. Wade and the Constitution:

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2 Responses to Wisdom, Love, Life, Voting and Making Good Choices

  1. The Overlord Bear says:
    October 19, 2024 at 11:50

    Father Greg certainly has a good way with words there! Especially with his focus on judges, his treatment of the unborn child as a second body, and how he sees Jesus’ own struggle with us sinners’ politics. Thank you very much for sharing this homily, then, Mr. Gill.

    Reply

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