Voting and St. Joseph

Once a month I go away for a weekend of recollection, that is a weekend where I help serve our brothers and sisters the homeless. Then there are the uninterrupted hours on the Sunday with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Joseph, at whose great shrine in Montreal I have had occasion to celebrate Holy Mass, is the principle patron of Canada, and so this weekend in particular, and today election day, I have been intently praying through his intercession for the election of a holy government.

In the history of this young country this is only the 39th general federal election.

Much has changed since the mid 19th century when this country was formed and the electorate consisted almost exclusively of the landed, male, gentry.

Truly universal suffrage only came about by the latter part of the 20th century when our First People’s, the original inhabitants of this land, became eligible to vote.

Thus today in the neighbourhood polling station it was wonderful to see, both amongst the officials from Elections Canada, the party representatives and among the electors the young and old, veterans and aboriginals, Canadians of every background, and for mid-afternoon, impressive numbers as well.

These are such crucial days in every nation on earth for the restoration of all things to Christ, the restoration of a truly holy cultural, moral, political, economic, artistic reality – or – the continued advance of the shadows of death, from abortion to terrorism, from assault on the sacredness of marriage and family life, to the continued spread of hunger and epidemics.

We speak of the right to vote as a privilege.

In truth it is a most serious obligation.

St. Joseph, Patron of Canada, Protector of the Universal Church, Patron of Workers, Husbands, Fathers, Priests – please intercede for the election here and everywhere of holy governments, for the unity of all Christians with Peter, for just wages for workers, the holiness of marriage, the protection of the unborn, the sanctification of priests.

In a couple of hours I will join my family, and the rest of the country, to watch the results of the election – please God Canada is about to change and begin to return to Christ.