October 8 Meeting: Catholic GOTV

G.O.T.V. - it's an acronym in political parlance that means Get out the vote. For Catholics Christians voting is more than a right granted under the U.S. Constitution or a privilege given by the state, it's a moral obligation. As such we are bound to make sure we're informed on the issues that we face individually, as a community and nation when we step into the booth.

How do we make sure we're "well informed" and what exactly does that mean? Well it means making decisions based on your Conscience (CCC#1778) by employing the virtue of Prudence (CCC#1806).

The Church for her part does not dictate for whom or how one is to vote, but does seek to assist her members in forming consciences and right judgement in light of the teachings of Christ as they have been traditioned through the Church. We are people of both faith and reason and as such "are called to bring truth to political life and to practice Christ’s commandment to love one another (Jn13:34)."

For their part the Bishops, in their capacity and authority as teachers, have released a document called The Challenge of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. In it the Bishops say:

A consistent ethic of life should guide all Catholic engagement in political life. This Catholic ethic neither treats all issues as morally equivalent nor reduces Catholic teaching to one or two issues. It anchors the Catholic commitment to defend human life and other human rights, from conception until natural death, in the fundamental obligation to respect the dignity of every human being as a child of God.

Catholic voters should use Catholic teaching to examine candidates’ positions on issues and should consider candidates’ integrity, philosophy, and performance.

As such the bishops have highlighted seven themes from Catholic Social Teaching to illustrate the importance of keeping our focus on our common humanity and the sanctity of that humanity.

So we know what the church considers to be important - which is a broad range of issues. But where do the parties stand on these issues amongst the many others? We've heard from the pundits, the media and the folks all around us that this years election is perhaps the 'most crucial election in our lifetime.' So for our October meeting we're going to find out just that - in as much as the constraints of our meeting time allows.

In order to do this more fully, we've invited a person from the two major parties to come and speak with us.

Representing the Republican Party will be Wesley Donehue. Wesley is a political strategist and owner of Under The Power Lines a political consultancy firm. He's worked on many campaigns including the SC State Senate Republican Caucus and Sen. Jim DeMint.

• See the Republican Party platform here (it's a .pdf file)

And for the Democrats we've got Joey Oppermann. Joey is the third Vice Chairman of the Democratic party, he's a recent law school grad and is currently working on democratic campaigns in the upstate of South Carolina.

• See the Democratic Party platform here (also a .pdf file)

In the end though, as we conclude our evening's session we must remember what else the Bishops remind us to do. "We must look beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically, and to choose their political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest” (USCCB, Living the Gospel of Life, no. 33), in our efforts to discern who we're going to vote for come November, not just for President, but all the way down ticket to dog catcher.

So we look forward to seeing you all at Delaney's in 5pnts October 8 at 6pm for some beer and food and great conversation. Until then!

~Matt

Follow-up from Sept. 10 Meeting

Hi All,

I just wanted to include a few follow-up comments for folks who may have a few more questions.
In our discussion about the Holy Spirit, the question that many seemed most interested in was "What instances or when do I pray to the Holy Spirit?" It may help to think of the Nicene Creed in order to understand when it is appropriate to pray to the Holy Spirit:

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

Let's take a look at "the Lord, the giver of life." Without the Holy Spirit there would be no life. The Holy Spirit must be present to, but not present in everything (this idea should make more sense by contrasting the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament versus the New Testament).

Someone mentioned Gen. 1:2 - "the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters" [sometimes translated as "a wind from God" or "God's Spirit"]. Once that mighty wind sweeps over the waters life began creating, that life force, or Who gives life, is the Holy Spirit.

The Psalms also reaffirm the importance of the Holy Spirit: "When you [God] send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). Life continues because the Holy Spirit is here to support.

By saying "proceeding from the Father and Son" we are witnessing to a dynamic relationship between Father, Son and Spirit. A relationship that many have tried to discuss in the past 2000 years of Christianity, but one that we will never fully understand until we meet God face to face.

Because the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son the Holy Spirit must also be divine and He must have some role to play in the life of every living thing. For instance, how did Christ become man?--"The angel said to her [Mary], 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Lk 1:35). Through the Holy Spirit Mary conceives and she gives birth to both God and man.

The Catholic church, since the time of St. Augustine, has understood the Holy Spirit to be the Love shared between the Father and the Son. This Love is so great that it is another Person. Hence why we say that he proceeds from the Father and the Son.

But very important to any discussion of the role or distinction of the Holy Persons is our understanding that God is above or outside of time. So by saying proceeds we do not mean to imply subordination (Fr. Bernard touched on this briefly). In other words, by saying the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father or the Son, we do not mean to imply that the Father existed and then created the Holy Spirit! Instead we are simply trying to show a relationship of distinct persons that are God.

Because the Holy Spirit is God, it only makes sense that we should worship and glorify Him!

So, we come to our last point of the Creed, "He has spoken through the prophets." All true prophets are empowered by the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament the Spirit would give a prophet what he needed at a specific time but would later leave; think of Samson, Saul or David . And don't forget what happens once the Spirit withdraws from them!

In the New Testament we learn that the Spirit must open our ears to hear the Son and that He, the Holy Spirit will lead all to Truth (1 Cor 2:9-13 and Jn 14:26). Remember that anything true must come from God.

Hopefully this clears up a little of what we discussed last night. Please feel free to comment and ask questions!

I also found this video clip about the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, thanks to Dcn. Jack, that may be of some interest to you.

The International Catholic Charismatic Renewal website (there is music in the background).

A succinct answer about baptism in the spirit can be found here.