Sunday, March 11, 2012

Faith and Presidential Politics

In some Catholic churches today even the "Prayers of the Faithful" are written to deliver a strongly political, anti-President Obama message. The petitions -- often thinly disguised attacks on the president and his administration -- fall only a little short of a demand to vote against all Democrats in November and instead elect Republicans who have signed on various "dotted lines" for political expediency. I find the intrusion of politics into my weekly worship both offensive and discouraging.

From the parish bulletin, I had decided that St. John Vianney Church leans too far right to be comfortable, and I somewhat reluctantly took my place in the pew this morning. Instead, I was surprised and delighted by an enthusiastic (though not great) choir and strong cantor. The presider skillfully navigated the choppy "and with your spirit" waters, cleverly selecting options that avoided the new translation of the Mass wherever possible. The petitions were prayers inspired by the readings of the day. The homily, short and delivered in a strong voice, spoke of our decades long failure to eradicate violence from American and world culture. For the first time in a long while, my hour at Mass was both prayerful and uplifting.

It was impossible to distinguish parishioners from visitors and I felt that Democrats and Republicans can set aside differences and come together to pray on Sunday morning. I felt very happy to belong to the universal church.

The sun shone brightly as we walked out into the brilliance of a Florida Sunday morning.

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