Post-Election Reflection

St. James Cathedral, Seattle

Father Ryan offers brief remarks at the beginning of all Masses this weekend, reflecting on the election this past week.

My friends, before we begin Mass, I feel the need to say something about the events of this past week.

We have been through a long and bruising election season unlike any of us can remember. Some are elated about the outcome; others are heartbroken. And we bring all of that along with us to Mass this weekend.

And even though our feelings about the outcome of the election may be very different, nevertheless, there is still so much that unites us. We wouldn’t be here if that weren’t case. We are sisters and brothers, part of the same Church, part of the Body of Christ, part of this wonderful community of faith. We need to keep that in mind going forward.

And we need to pray, pray earnestly and honestly, pray for our President-elect and for all newly elected officials, pray from our joy, pray from our pain, pray with confidence to the God who loves each of us beyond measure; pray to the God for whom the differences that - to us – may seem insurmountable are really quite inconsequential when viewed against the great backdrop of God’s plan for the human family. God’s plan is for us to love one another; to build communities of love; to embrace the voiceless and the vulnerable; to work for a better world where all are valued, accepted, and loved. No matter how the future unfolds, we must never forget God’s plan, never compromise those core beliefs.

And, my friends, no matter what our politics may be, I believe that these are things we can all agree on as believers, things we can work together to bring about. It’s what we have been doing for a long time at St. James Cathedral, and I am confident that we will continue that great work together!

May our prayer today be a step in that direction. May it begin to bring about healing, mutual understanding, reconciliation, and peace.

Let me conclude with words Abraham Lincoln spoke so long ago at his first inaugural, a moment in history when our nation was every bit as polarized as it is today:

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory…will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched…by the better angels of our nature.”

May it be so!