After providing last weekend, an insert from our United States Bishops about the dignity of the human person, which is the first of four principles of Catholic Social Teaching, this week's insert touches on the principle of the "Common Good". PLEASE take time to read and reflect on it! Going back to the first insert we provided a number of weeks ago, the bishops talked about the many threats to human dignity that exist in our time. Knowing what these are and then seeing where our candidates for elected office stand on these issues and the way or ways they have acted or failed to act on these issues, is important for us to consider BEFORE making our choices at election time. The bishops say, "The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone." They go on to teach us that there are other grave threats to the life and dignity of the human person. These include euthanasia, gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty and human trafficking. They also speak of the threat of those who would redefine marriage and gender, those who threaten religious freedom at home and abroad, the lack of justice for the poor, the suffering of migrants and refugees, wars and famines around the world, racism, the need for greater access to healthcare and education, the care for our common home and more. There is no doubt it takes time to find out where candidates for public office stand on these issues and to what extent these are a much of a priority for them now and in the future if they are elected. I realize and I hope you do, that it is quite a challenge to get an honest answer to these questions given the deceptiveness and bias of so much of our media outlets today. Even some "religious based" forms of information do not in ways present "just the facts" on where all candidates stand on these issues. A real problem exists as well whenever candidates fail to address where they stand on issues and/or when they have priorities that are not in the list that the bishops have given for us to strongly consider. While the temptation is there for us to "strongly consider" which candidate, when elected, will do the most to help me (and my family) to prosper economically and in other ways, we are called to keep our attention at election time and ALWAYS on what is best for the "common good" which I hope we would all agree is the Christ-like way to think and act, (while obviously not ignoring our own basic needs). My concern (and even fear) at this point is that too many have already made up their minds about who to vote for or who not to vote for without taking the time and real effort to ultimately make the best decision when going to the polls. I would suggest taking the time and bringing all this to prayer about who will do the most good for those most people in our country and throughout the world, recognizing that some of our elected officials can and hopefully will be attentive to what will establish and keep peace between peoples in other parts of our world. One thing is for sure, there is MUCH for us to bring to prayer!

Recently, Pope Francis made some "comments" when asked by reporters on a plane back from his 4 nation missionary journey in Asia, that sound blunt when it comes to our current presidential election here in the United States. Since what I (and some of you) read about his comments, was reported through the filter of particular journalists' bias on subjects and candidates, one has to be careful about reflecting on what the pope said. One quote from the pope has him say in regards to the two main presidential candidates that "Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants or be it the one who kills babies." There are some, of course who might conclude or want to argue that since he spoke of migrants first, that according to its place in what he said, it is the first and most important issue that should be considered before going to the polls to vote. That, of course, should not be concluded. Instead, it should be pointed out that the pope has not mixed words when it comes to the intrinsic evil" of abortion since it kills a human being. "Performing an abortion is killing a human being. Whether you like the word or not, this is killing." "The Church does not allow abortion because it is killing. It is murder" This is backed by the bishops of the United States that the issue of abortion is the "preeminent priority" for American Catholics in general and in those who are hopefully planning to exercise their right and duty to vote. This is stated clearly in its published teaching "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" which I urge you to pull up online and read or re-read before making choices of what and who to vote for in the upcoming election. Asked what voters of the United States should do at the polls, Pope Francis firstly recalled the civic duty to vote. He said "One should vote, and choose the lesser evil. Who is the lesser evil, the woman or the gentleman? I don't know. Everyone in their conscience should think and do it" I assume he's referring to voting and voting not from a "feeling" but from a properly formed conscience that seeks "THE TRUTH" from God that we have through divine revelation (the bible) and the Tradition of the Church. It is not up to the pope, our bishops, priests, and deacons who teach and preach in public to tell the Catholic (or the whole electorate) who to vote for! It is important that the Church's leaders make it clear that the right to life and dignity of the human person from conception until natural death comes first and only after this, other issues that promote the common good, solidarity and subsidiarity as presented by our Church's teachers and teachings. PLEASE take the time to read these inserts which will continue over the next four weeks in our bulletin.

I believe, if given the chance to clarify or expand on what he said, that the pope would refer not to the candidates as evil, but rather the positions they hold and/or act on which are against life as being evil and bringing harm (in one instance death) to human beings. I hope and pray we all discern what is the greater evil and speak out at the polls and long after the election is over and the winners are sworn into office.

Given the reality that we are a large parish (over 700 registered families) with three Masses on the weekend which creates "three worship communities" in one, it is almost always the case that not every parishioner will be able to put a face or faces to the name or names of our V.I.P.'s for any given month. Fortunately, we have a pictorial directory that is helpful in this and other instances (as with a parishioner's death).
With regard to our V.I.P.s for the month of September, Jim and Patricia Goodson, I'll bet at least some of you can put a face to their names when I tell you they are the couple who often are color-coordinated in the clothes they wear to church with Patricia wearing a hat. Their coordination shows itself in many other ways (like their passion for the pro-life ministry) and the fact that they have shared their lives as husband and wife for 50 years! Throughout their years together, amid various moves (including to the island of Kauai in Hawaii) they got involved in parish life in the church communities they joined. Besides his life as a police officer in San Diego (for 14 years) and a real estate career, Jim also spearheaded as president of the parish council at St. William's Church in Hanalei, the challenging effort to rebuild and furnish that church after it sustained severe damage from Hurricane Iniki. Later he coordinated The Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Litchfield Park which included training over 200 E.M.s. At a growing parish, St. Henry in Buckeye, Arizona, he arranged for the acquisition of a rectory for the priest of that parish. It was there that he and Patricia were first involved in pro-life ministry which included prayer in front of the abortion clinic in Phoenix. Jim and Patricia carried this passion as well as their ministry as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to Sacred Heart Parish when they moved to Hot Springs Village in 2010. Health issues have forced both Jim and Patricia to reluctantly back off from these ministries, but they still rarely miss Mass on Saturday evenings and Jim, daily Mass as often as his health allows. For years they were both stalwarts when it came to participating in daily Mass here at Sacred Heart Church. Jim served as the pro-life director for the Knights of Columbus for 9 years and began the "Baby Bottle Campaign" which continues in our parish and provides needed funds for our area pregnancy help centers. Both Jim and Patricia served under the parish's pro-life committee under both Rosemary Monarque and then Mary Costello. For years they were faithful at attending the annual March for Life in Little Rock and the "Life-Chain" in downtown Hot Springs. Their commitment to pray for this and other causes inspired them to start and lead the annual "Rosary in the Public Square" that often took place outside of the Wal-Mart parking lot, and pray at the abortion clinic in Little Rock during the "40 Days for Life". They served a total of 40 years as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and Jim over 25 years as a lector at Mass. Jim has been a Knight of Columbus for over 25 years and Patricia has been in the St. Elizabeth Guild since she and Jim have lived in Hot Springs Village.
Please give thanks to God in your prayers this week for Jim and Patricia, our V.I.P.'s for September and thank them too personally if you are a Saturday evening Mass participant and see them (in their color-coordinated outfits)!