The Way to Happiness and Voting

The Way to Happiness and Voting

by

Jim Valois

Abraham Lincoln once stated: “You must remember that some things legally right are not morally right.” In ancient Israel this idea was spelled out in the teaching of the two ways—the way of righteousness and the way of the wicked. Scripture scholar, Fr. Francis Martin taught that Psalm One—which opens with the two ways—sets the tone for the whole Psalter. He said the Psalmist is providing God’s people moral teaching to stay on the way to happiness because blessed is the man means happy is the man that stays on the way of the just and avoids the way of the wicked (“Introductory Remarks and the Blessing of the Law—Ps.1:1-2a” by Fr. Francis Martin, the Word Proclaimed https://thewordproclaimed.org/media/WPI/scriptureseries/psalms2014/Psalms-01a.mov)

 The Psalm informs us that the righteous person is like a tree that yields its fruit in due season, experiences prosperity in his or her endeavors and delights in the Torah, the Law of the Lord; the Torah includes the teaching, the guidance and the care of the Lord. This does not mean that the righteous do not have set backs, trials and suffering. Our Lord informed us that we would each have a cross to carry. But the entire Bible does remind us that truth abides and falsehood disappears (Ibid).

The doctrine of the two ways applies most definitively to our voting decisions. Faithful Christian citizenship requires that we vote for candidates who will advance the common good more so. For example, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, Church leaders as a body and our Pope and our basic humanity all say that life is the preeminent issue—candidates that push abortion till birth are not to be voted for by people of good will because every life is sacred. Although it may be legal in our country to take innocent life it is not moral to do so. Let us look at what God’s word reveals.

When God gave the Ten Commandments, He revealed more of His divine mind on many matters. “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13) is one of these Commandments and like all of them, it is for our own good and mutual well being. 4 words of great power are in this Commandment. There are many passages in the word of God that speak directly to this issue of the life of the preborn child. The pagan cultures, at the time, were routinely taking the lives of their own innocent babies in the most gruesome ways to appease the false idols they worshiped. These detestable acts were happening at the very time when God gave His Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites were on the right path to follow. In our time we do the same as the pagans but cover it up with coded language.

In the New Covenant, Jesus told the rich young man: “ ‘You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, Your shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All these I have observed; what do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:18-21) Here our Lord Jesus was reminding the young man and all of us that the Ten Commandments are still valid.

In Sacred Tradition, the earliest catechism, the Didache directly says not to procure an abortion. Our current catechism has much to help us with on the subject: It teaches that it is deeply immoral to press for the killing of innocent human life. In fact the catechism of the Catholic Church underscores the seriousness of the offense and the canonical penalty for the abortion but also shows the mercy and complete forgiveness available for the penitent.

"Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. “A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society." (CCC 2272)

Our US Bishops-- as a body-- remind us that when we vote, the issue of abortion should be preeminent in our minds because of the moral gravity of the matter. But the bishops remind us also that the issue of transgender procedures ranks high on the list of politicians not to cast a vote for. In other words, politicians who promote and press for these transgender surgeries and procedures should not get our vote. We must always love those dealing with gender dysphoria-- an individual who identifies with a gender different that their biological sex and help them get competent professional care via psycho-therapy instead of the “quick fix” of surgeries or procedures. The Bishops have issued guidelines to Catholic healthcare facilities:

"Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical of chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex or take part in the development of such procedures" (“Report: Catholic Hospitals Provided for Minors’ ‘Transitions’” by Tyler Arnold and Matthew McDonald, National Catholic Register, 10.20.24 –11.2.24)

 
Pope Francis has weighed in, at least 8 times, on the wrongness of the path of abortion in the strongest of terms:

"How can an action that ends an innocent and defenseless life in its blossoming stage be therapeutic, civilized or simply human? I ask you: Is it right to ‘do away with’ a human life in order to solve a problem? Is it right to hire a hitman in order to solve a problem? One cannot. It is not right to ‘do away with’ a human being, however small, in order to solve a problem. It is like hiring a hitman,” he said. (“Respect Life: Pope Francis’ 8 Strongest Statements against Abortion” by Courtney Mares 10-4-21, www.catholicnewsagency.com)

So there you have it. The way of righteousness involves voting morally and living that way in the other areas of life. As Psalm One states blessed or happy is the man that does not walk in the way of the wicked but delights in the Torah and on it he meditates day and night.