A Prayer before Voting...

by Father Austin Fleming

The election is tomorrow, Lord,
and I was wondering: if you were a candidate
- would you be elected?

I know if you were running for office, Lord,
you’d campaign with open and transparent honesty:
no need for fact-checking your statements and press releases!

Your campaign promises would be many:
life for those who respect and reverence it;
peace for those who work for it;
justice for the oppressed;
pardon for those who freely forgive;
opportunity and work for all who seek it;
casting the mighty from their thrones
and filling the hungry with good things…

Your platform would be flawless:
laws rooted in truth;
freedom bound by responsibility;
and justice tempered with mercy…

Your policies would be grounded
in an unapologetic preference and care
for the defenseless innocent:
for those waiting to be born and their mothers;
for the sick and the elderly;
for the poor, the marginalized, the refugee and the stranger;
and for victims of power, arrogance and greed…

But I know your name won’t be on the ballot, Lord,
so I ask you to be with me as I study the candidates
and their policies, platforms and promises
- and decide for whom I’ll cast my vote…

Open my mind to all sides of the issues
lest I vote uninformed on matters of poverty and prosperity,
peace and war, life and death, rights and responsibilities…

Help me see through the ads and the hype
lest I vote on the basis of looks and appearances,
polls and campaign promises…

Give me counsel to choose wisely
when the choices fail to offer what I seek and expect
of those who might govern your people…

Make me a discerning disciple, Lord:
empower me to cast my ballot
as my faith, intelligence, conscience
and the truth of your Word lead me to vote…

On the eve of the election I offer you my heart:
inscribe on it your word of truth
in letters gospel-wide and bold enough for me to clearly see…

I offer you my mind, Lord:
bathe my thoughts in wisdom ever ancient, ever new
and show me the path of your truth…

I offer you my will, Lord:
bend, shape, mold and nurture it
with the power of your grace and conform it
to your heart’s desire…

I offer you my vote, Lord:
may it be a good decision, may it speak a just word,
may it hasten your reign of peace
and bring life and liberty for all…

All this I pray, Lord,
and I ask in return the gift of your Spirit
to counsel, guide and enlighten me…

Amen.