Freedom calls us to follow Christ's Gospel message

President Johnson was fond of saying that he was a free man, an American and a Democrat in that order. These are words that a stalemated Washington could live by. With all due respect to my fellow Texan, I choose to be a Christian, a free man and an American in that order.

It is Christ who gives me the will to be free. Without Christ's message of love, I would be a perpetual slave to sin. As Americans we often have a warped notion of freedom. Many of us assume that freedom gives us the right to do whatever we want, whenever we want. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that, "There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to 'the slavery of sin'" (CCC 1733).

Our Creator endowed us with "certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." As Americans, we recognize these as self-evident rights, along with the concept that "all men are created equal." These are gifts from God as part of his natural law. "The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in religious and moral matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of man," according to the Catechism. "But the exercise of freedom does not entail the putative right to say or do anything... (CCC 1747).

Note that God's gifts are given to "all men," not just Americans. As Catholics we belong to a church that has no borders. It is a universal church founded by Christ for the care and salvation of God's children. We are all truly brothers and sisters in Christ. We must live our lives as brothers and sisters and children of the one God.

The bishops of the United States tell us that, "In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation…As Catholics, we should be guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to a political party or interest group. When necessary, our participation should help transform the party to which we belong; we should not let the party transform us in such a way that we neglect or deny fundamental moral truths."

Some years ago someone came up with the slogan "What would Jesus do?" We know what Jesus would do. The real question is what will we do? Will we follow his words? Will we live by his Gospel message? Will we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Will we love our creator with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind? (Mt 22:37) If we do, then--and only then--we will be truly free.

As we enter into the election season, we need to keep in mind that as Catholics we are called to be faithful citizens. We are called to be active in the public square. In order to do this we must have a well-formed conscience based on Christ's Gospel message as explained in Catholic Social Teaching and not in the platforms of either major political party or on sloganeering of candidates and their campaigns.

Armed with Christ's message of love we can make the right decisions for our country.