"Follow the Wisdom of the Church" - 28th Sunday Homily

Have you heard the one about the senator who died and then went to meet Saint Peter at the pearly gates?

St.

Peter welcomed the senator.

Said Senator, we have some new rules.

You're going to 24 hours in heaven and then 24 hours in hell.

And then you're going let me know where you want to spend all of eternity.

And the senator said, St.

Peter, I'm pretty certain I want to be in heaven forever.

St.

Peter says, please, Senator, just abide by our rules, OK?

sure, sorry.

So they get in the elevator.

They go up, up, up, up.

to heaven doors open and it is glorious.

Almighty God, Father, Son and Spirit, all his glory, majesty and all the angels and saints so peaceful and happy 24 hours that he spends beyond anything he can imagine.

So then St.

Peter meets with them the next day, go down the elevator, down, down, down to hell, doors the elevator open up and it is

Beautiful everything is so nice people address the nines the nicest food the nicest drink Everything smells great.

It looks amazing.

It's like a really classy beautiful party for 24 hours

So the next day he gets back in elevator meets up with St.

Peter Peter says okay, what's your what's your choice?

And the Senator says you know I never thought I'd say this, but I think I want to go to hell

And St.

Peter's was, okay, so they get in the elevator, down, down, down, doors of the elevator open up the next day, and the place is a dump.

I mean, people are in rags, it just smells awful, it's just terrible.

And he sees the devil, the senator walks over to the devil, he says, well, what happened?

Yesterday this place was so beautiful, and today it's just awful.

The devil put his arm around him said, yesterday we were campaigning, today you voted.

So every day is election day for us.

That good angel on one shoulder, bad angel on the other, that's real.

They're campaigning, we cast the vote.

Every day, throughout the day.

Morally speaking.

And the Church can help us, certainly with strength from the grace of Christ, but also with the wisdom of the Church If you notice in the first reading, wisdom is referred to in

the feminine as the spouse of God who's always been united with God from all eternity.

The Church is also referenced in the feminine and the bride of Christ.

so united with him as with the spouse.

So there's wisdom and the Church together.

The Church has the wisdom of God, it's the bare wisdom of God.

And when Christ founded the Church, he sent the spirit of wisdom on the apostles, the first bishops.

And that's why we follow the teachings of the Pope and bishops, because of the wisdom that comes from God through the Church.

We certainly follow the wisdom of the Church with matters of faith, like with the Eucharist.

But we should also follow the teachings and the wisdom of the Church with moral teachings, moral issues.

And that's what's presented to you in this booklet I want you to take with you as you leave today from the US bishops about the upcoming election.

The first point that the bishops say, we don't vote according to party or personality, we vote according to principles.

Like moral principles.

That again, the Church has this moral authority, this wisdom to address the issues.

I find it very helpful.

I've used this every year, every election, homily.

And referring to the wisdom going through the issues, the bishops say not all the issues have the same moral weight.

Some are intrinsically evil.

means they're always wrong, inherently wrong, like abortion and euthanasia.

We can't support them intentionally.

And that the right to life is preeminent.

Without the right to life, there are no other rights.

So every year before an election, every four years I should say, make the same presentation off of the same document.

Well, 12 years ago at GW, a female grad student who I didn't know, she responded to what I said, what the bishops wrote, with a really long fiery email.

Who are you all to talk about life and abortion?

And the longer it went, the more personal it got from her end.

So I started thinking, there's something there.

And I was thinking about and praying about it the next day.

Before I could respond, she showed up at the Newman Center door.

She didn't want to talk.

I said, yeah, let's sit down.

And she apologized for how fiery and aggressive it was, but then explained the personal part for her was when she was very young.

that her family members forced her to abort her own baby.

And she had been carrying the weight of that all those years.

And that's what came out of that email.

And I just took it.

And I received it from her.

She was lashing out to God and to the Church, and I just received it.

And in that two-hour conversation, she received so much healing and peace and forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

for whatever part she had.

was forced into this.

It's not always a choice.

and she experienced the mercy of God through the Church.

So our Church, which is about justice, just laws, is also about mercy.

And when people, you all know this, whatever choices you make, if you make the wrong choice, you can always come to the Church for mercy.

But we do fight for and defend justice and just laws.

If you notice in the commandments,

In this passage, Jesus lists the fifth commandment, first, thou shalt not kill.

That is the one commandment that society actually still follows, except in certain stages of life.

But we cannot support intentionally direct offenses against the Fifth Commandment, especially when it's almost a million times a year.