Political spirituality

Like a broken record, I am here again to remind ourselves of our mission from the Lord post-Edsa 2, which I have taken the liberty of calling Edsa 3 over the long haul. And this mission is none other than political spirituality. We must never again separate our affairs of state from the sovereignty of Almighty God. We must never again separate the secular from the sacred – in our personal as well as in our community life. All our efforts toward the common good of our people and our country is what I call political spirituality.

This will demand much wisdom, as today’s liturgical readings tell us (Wis. 6:12-16; Mt. 25 1-13). A crucial event that will require much, much wisdom on our part is the coming Presidential Election of 2004. Wisdom here does not mean blind loyalty to a political party or candidate. Much less does it mean voting for a good-looking movie actor who knows next-to-nothing about national leadership and political administration. Neither does it mean voting for a clever Senator with a massive, pending case on graft and corruption. Voting for either one would be political suicide on our part — which is definitely not God’s will for us. How, then, can we prevent this from happening?

This is where our leaders from the different religious denominations and churches must band together in the moral and spiritual politicization of our people. So many of our church-goers are very vulnerable, naïve, and even amoral – when it comes to voting for candidates. They need a lot of maturing and guidance as voters. Voting out of moral principles and not out of personality cultism. This is where our challenge lies – a real mission from the Lord.

This widespread political education of our people must be started soonest, lest we lose the moral battle by default. We are not at all partisan in this regard. We are simply called by God to be wise and moral about our choice of the next President.

Some qualities in the person of our next President must be clearly and consistently present: A marked competence in political leadership and administration; personal, moral integrity; a deep love for our country and our people, especially the poor and underprivileged; and most of all, a God-centered life. And by God-centered here we do not mean political leader who goes to church services on Sundays, and is actually a trapo politician for the rest of the week. This kind of politician will be refused entrance in God’s kingdom, as today’s Gospel message tells us. "Amen, I say to you. I do not know you." (Mt. 25:12).

We ourselves must learn to be habitually in-touch with the God within us and all around us. We must learn to really listen to what the Lord is saying to us, and where the Lord is leading us. This kind of discerning heart is what will lead us to God’s will, to God’s designs, rooted in love and justice. The majority of our people are ignorant and hungry for this kind of spirituality. They are more accustomed to praying prayers of petition – asking God for what they want — which is nothing but spiritual arm-twisting.

The deeper, more adult kind of prayer is just the opposite; namely, listening to what God wants from us. Following His will — the surest way to inner peace. This will lead us and our people to be responsible voters, God-inspired voters.

Let us spread the word around, but let us start with ourselves.