NETWORK LOBBY FOR
CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE
  • About Us
    • What is Catholic Social Justice
    • History
    • Nuns on the Bus
    • Voting Record
    • Board
    • Staff
    • Jobs and Volunteer
  • Contact Us
  • Invite Us
  • Newsroom
    • Press Releases
    • Media
    • Podcast
    • Connection
    • Social Media
  • Events

Our Response to COVID-19
Skip to content
  • Give
    • 50th Anniversary Endowment Fund
    • Become A Member
    • One Time Gift
    • Give Monthly
    • Planned Giving
    • More Ways to Give
  • FAQs
  • Build Anew Agenda
    • Budget
    • Criminal Legal System Reform
    • Family-Friendly Workplace
    • Food Security
    • Health Care
    • Housing
    • Immigration
    • Income
    • Taxes
    • Trade
    • Voting and Democracy
    • All Issues
  • Advocacy Toolbox
    • Educate
    • Organize
    • Lobby
  • Blog
    • Legislative Updates
    • Spirited Sisters
    • Spirit-Filled Network
    • Emerging Justice Seekers
  • Act Now
    • Thriving Communities Campaign
    • Completed Actions
      • Lent 2023
        • Ash Wednesday: Lent Calls Us to Repent and Make Reparation
        • Lent Week 2: We Must Repent From Christian Nationalism
        • Lent Week 3: Lent Calls for Inclusion and Solidarity
        • Lent Week 4: This Lent, Families Deserve Justice
        • Lent Week 5: The Mercy of Participation in Democracy
      • Deliver the 2022 Voting Record
      • Email the 2022 Voting Record
      • Write a Public Comment to Oppose the Proposed Biden Asylum Ban
      • Send a Letter to President Biden for Reparations
      • Take Action After Watching Faith in Reparations
      • White Supremacy and American Christianity
      • Take Action for Reparations This Summer in Your Community
      • Team Democracy
  • Events
  • Thriving Communities Campaign
  • Lent 2023
  • Give
  • About Us
  • Build Anew Agenda
  • Blog
  • What is Catholic Social Justice
  • Newsroom
  • Act Now
  • Advocacy Toolbox
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
Be A Voter. Your Vote Is Your Voice. (1200 × 600 px) (2)

Lent Week 5: The Mercy of Participation in Democracy

Leave a reply

The Mercy of Participation in Democracy

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM
March 22, 2023
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent:

Ez 37:12-14
Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Rom 8:8-11
Jn 11:1-45

 

Following the 2020 election, Donald Trump claimed that 5,000 dead people voted in Georgia. The actual number turned out to be four, all involving family members of deceased relatives. The reason that someone would complain about this practice is that it’s against the law. Dead people don’t vote; only the living have voting rights.

The real problem in the U.S. is that restrictive voting laws have gutted voting rights across the country, disproportionately blocking Black and Brown citizens from exercising their right to vote. Since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, at least 25 states have enacted some form of restrictive voting laws limiting early voting, purging voter rolls, enacting strict voter ID laws, and regulating mail-in voting and the placement of drop boxes.

Under such restrictive laws, their vote is as good as dead.

Read All NETWORK Lenten Reflections

The readings for this Sunday of Lent offer hope, with God proclaiming, “O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them.” This is exactly the spirit of the multi-faith, justice-seeking push to restore voting rights across the U.S. and enshrine these protections into federal law. The Psalmist reminds us that “With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.” That is why restoring voting rights is not only just, but godly.

And the Gospel reading, with Jesus dramatically raising his friend Lazarus from the grave, also reminds us of an important detail: When we open this tomb, we will confront a stench. The racist policies and attitudes that pervade our politics and hold us down are noxious, and we must be prepared for them. But like Jesus, we have the faith to raise our voices and demand that those who have been excluded from full participation in our democracy return to the land of the living.

Additional Resources  

Read All NETWORK Lenten Reflections

NETWORK’s three-part series on voting rights by Joan F. Neal:

  • Theology of Voting: Participation in Democracy as a Christian Value (Sept. 2, 2022)
  • Theology of Voting: The Right to Vote is a Sacred Right (Sept. 6, 2022)
  • Theology of Voting: Our Vote is Our Voice (Sept. 9, 2022)Return to Lent 2023
     

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

This entry was posted in Front Page, Lent 2023, Racism, Voting and Democracy and tagged Black Lives Matter, Catholic Social Justice, democracy, Lent2023, voting rights on March 21, 2023 by eilis.
View all posts by eilis →

Post navigation

← Your Advocacy for Reparations is Appreciated! Thriving Communities →

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

STAY CONNECTED

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
  • Network Advocates for Catholic Social Justice
  • Privacy Policy
  • TERMS & CONDITIONS
  • Jobs/Volunteer Opportunities
  • Contact Us

820 First Street NE | Suite 350 | Washington DC 20002 | USA | 202-347-9797
© COPYRIGHT 2023 NETWORK LOBBY FOR CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE