hiking and voting…oddly similar.
I love to hike. Throw some good snacks and a camera in my bag, and I am ready to jam. My husband can close his eyes and navigate with some 6th sense that I wasn't blessed with, so I carry a compass… either way works. Whether it is my husband smelling the air around him or me frantically turning in circles with the compass on my phone, we both are looking for one thing before we begin, true north. The knowledge of north naturally reveals the direction of south, east, and west. Within this framework, we can orient ourselves with confidence that we know where we are going and enjoy freedom of movement as we navigate our way. As we set off, each of us can choose different paths to eventually arrive at the same destination as reasonable and well-informed individuals. (Although truth be told, I always follow him, ha!)
I love this concept because it can easily be applied to our journey through life towards our heavenly home. Our journey takes place in neighborhoods and communities throughout the world. It passes us through classrooms and grocery stores, sits us at the bedside of sick loved ones and tired children, it demands that we labor both for life and wage. Our steps are the daily choices we make to love one another. This journey also must have some hard markers — a true north —that help us navigate our way through community life. These are "non-negotiables" that help us build a foundation within society that allows each human person to flourish.
I would argue that Catholic moral teaching upholds the sanctity of human life and sets the “right to life” life as true north; it must be the preeminent non-negotiable as it is the foundation upon which all other rights flow. As long as the right to simply live is dependent on any subjective want or need, we will never be able to orient ourselves within our community with confidence that our journey toward our heavenly home will find a successful end. We will constantly be wandering in a gray area, a sort of disturbance in the magnetic field that throws us off course. Suddenly our journey–the steps home that are simply the daily choices of sacrificially loving one another—become harder to discern because we have lost our bearing. When the "right to life" is in jeopardy, then our thinking can naturally fall into confusion. We think, maybe abortion is necessary, maybe euthanasia is the compassionate choice, maybe embryonic testing to weed out fetal abnormalities makes sense…etc. etc. etc.
The problem is, when we participate in any action that denies the right to life, we are culpable for that sin. If we are wandering in gray area because we have lost true north, it is simply because we have allowed this world's politics to drown out the Word of God in our hearts. Much like when I am hiking with my husband, if I get lost, it isn't because my compass was wrong, it is because I didn't keep my eye on it.
In November, our journey will pass us by a ballot box. What we do here isn't about parties or affiliations, it is about being Catholic. It is about using our vote as an opportunity to affirm what is non-negotiable for the good of the entire community. The Right to Life, the right to continue living once you have been created by God, must be protected.
There are other issues such as healthcare, education, the economy, immigration, etc. that are serious and deserve much attention; however, two reasonable and well-informed individuals may disagree on the exact route to arrive at the necessary reform. But debating these issues is completely fruitless when we lose our bearings because any of these issues can only be reformed for the good of the human person when protecting the right to live is non-negotiable.
You and I have a moral duty to use our vote as a voice to protect that which all other rights flow from…the right to simply live. A choice otherwise, even a choice to do nothing, will be a part of our journey, subject to the judgment of our Lord, and a deciding factor in our final destination.
Don’t forget to download this week’s PGS for your family to discuss with your kiddos what happens when they are following Jesus, but their friends don’t.
See you next week!
