"Living as a Catholic Citizen" - Sunday Homily at St. Anthony

On the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we heard about the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus, with only one returning. Just like those 9 lepers who didn't return, our world and society is increasingly focused on individualism and self - so what can we do? Fr. David Hust preached how we, as faith-filled citizens, render justice unto God and neighbor, when we engage in our God-given duty to bring order to a disordered world, both in ordinary life but also through the political processes of our country. And a reminder: if you are struggling with this message or find yourself believing some of these ideologies that were discussed and maybe didn't realize were intrinsically evil - know first and foremost that you are loved. And it’s precisely because you are loved by God and us that we’re working to form consciences, because these ideologies don’t lead to happiness and human flourishing. A Note from Fr. David: So as to avoid hype and emotive decision-making, it's time to start informing our consciences regarding Church teaching so that we can vote well in election cycles for years to come. With that said, as you've seen, because Roe v Wade was overturned, abortion access is on the ballot and is the issue that one political platform cares about most. Thus, Catholics, if they are to be faithful to Christ, must educate themselves and inform their consciences rightly so they may know what to do in situations where there are candidates who support intrinsic evils.. For that, I suggest this 6-part series on voting: (It is slightly dated, i.e. released before the overturning of Roe v. wade, but it has excellent content, i.e. sound theology and philosophical reasoning.) •    • Faith, Abortion, and Voting Part 1: The Pr...   or https://www.catholic.com/magazine/onl... •    • Faith, Abortion, and Voting Part 2: Five R...   or https://www.catholic.com/magazine/onl... •    • Faith, Abortion, and Voting Part 3: Three ...   or https://www.catholic.com/magazine/onl... •    • Faith, Abortion, and Voting Part 4: Can a ...   or https://www.catholic.com/magazine/onl... •    • Faith, Abortion, and Voting Part 5: Can Pr...   or https://www.catholic.com/magazine/onl... • https://www.catholic.com/magazine/onl... ——— Also, here are some other good articles worth reading: The Church & The State: https://opusdei.org/en-us/article/top... Moral Relativism: The Danger of the “Seamless Garment” Mentality https://www.hli.org/2017/10/seamless-... Explaining Cardinal Ratzinger’s “Proportionate Reasons” https://www.catholic.com/magazine/pri... The World's Worst Injustice: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/onl... "Priorities in the Polls" from the USCCB: https://www.usccb.org/resources/prior... Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-acti...