by David M. Carollo –
Next week we will exercise our civic duty and select our representatives at all levels of government from the president on down. As I have always done, I downloaded the list of candidates endorsed by the pro-life groups to use as one of my guides for voting. From the top of the ticket down to the lesser offices, the candidates are rated based on their responses, or lack thereof, to questions regarding how they will vote on the issues of life. For incumbents, their voting record speaks for them.
A most disturbing trend that I noticed is how some have followed the culture and altered, or outright changed, their position on the biggest issue of our day. In fact, it is the biggest issue of any day. The number of people running for or holding public office who do not respect the commandment “Thou shall not murder,” is frightening. Taking innocent human life in the womb or at old age can never be acceptable and it can never be compared to the taking of life in self-defense or as punishment for a capital crime. Once any society allows this to become part of the fabric of the culture the countdown to destruction has begun. Forty-seven years after the Supreme Court took the right to regulate such laws from the people, we have accelerated our journey down that road. Both legislators and citizens in this country have taken a “there is nothing I can do’” attitude about abortion. There is much that we can and must do to stop this auto-genocide. Who determines the value of any life? Only God can do that.
I had a conversation with a regular visitor to our shrine recently. He was being rolled out in a wheelchair, unable to walk long distances any longer. He made a comment that he felt less than useful now. I quickly reminded him that his prayerful ways and devotion to Mass and the Rosary every day is of more merit than the hard work of people like myself who still enjoy good physical health. Life has phases and he is now called to more prayer and contemplation. Life is of value from start to finish, from the moment that God calls us into existence at conception until he calls us home. Any political candidate who supports ending life at any point, for the sake of convenience stands in contrast to the Creator. It is sad that for many of us the concerns about this culture of death only become an issue during election times. Life is the foundational issue upon which we build all others.
The violence and chaos that we are witnessing in our country has been brewing for a long time. It is grounded in the lack of respect for life prevalent in our society today. How can we expect people who support the extermination of the unborn or the elderly to seek peaceful means of dissent? One hundred and three years ago Our Lady warned us that Russia would spread her errors. Prior to the Bolshevik revolution many things that we are witnessing here today, such as attacks on the police, national institutions and our churches, were happening in Russia. In 1920, the new Communist government, devoid of God, legalized abortion. The saying goes that “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.” We must not let that be the case here.
We are on the edge of monumental change for the worse if we choose wrongly next week. Make no mistake about it, our faith is the true target of all this violence, and ambiguity on the part of our Catholic leaders is adding to the confusion. We have had a taste of seeing our churches closed and our access to the sacraments cutoff, or limited, as a response to a pandemic. Government edict designating that churches were not essential while allowing questionable businesses to operate, leads one to believe that ulterior motives are possibly behind the actions. In Russia, after the revolution that was painted as a movement of the people for fairness, quickly turned against those of faith, many of whom helped to usher in their government out of a belief that some of their tenets were noble. What stands behind those who attempt to appear moderate quickly acquiesce to the more radical elements of a movement. History has proven this to be the case.
The high level of anxiety surrounding this election is leading to great animosity. We need to understand, however, that we take our positions on politics because it reflects the will of God. He desires that all follow His teachings, so we need to act with charity in our disagreements, but not compromise the truth. In the Old Testament we were taught to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” and, Christ continued by instructing us to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” We do not want to see anyone lost for eternity. We know that those who support abortion and other policies against the teachings of Almighty God are putting themselves in eternal jeopardy. We are all sinners who have fallen short. We want the salvation of all souls. As Catholics we are charged with this mission. As promoters of the Fatima message and of this apostolate, we have been given an even stronger mandate. Christian charity must override our zeal to win politically. We fight for our causes to bring about a society that is dedicated to conformity to the will of God. We must truly become one nation under God if we hope to survive and continue to be a beacon for the world. Our goal is to change the world, not just to win an election. Only prayer will provide grace to change hearts in sufficient numbers to make the difference. This will require a long-term commitment.
I encourage you all to participate in one of the many novenas for our nation, fasting, Masses, adoration, Rosaries and other initiatives. Here at the National Blue Army Shrine, we will be doing 24-hour adoration from Nov. 2 at 1pm – Nov. 3 at 3pm (ET), praying the Rosary every hour on the hour. We hope you can join us online or from your own parishes and adoration chapels.
God bless you.
David M. Carollo is the Executive Director of the World Apostolate of Fatima, USA.
