Voting is a civic and Christian duty rooted in our faith beliefs and moral principles. As followers of Jesus who calls us to participate in building God’s Kingdom, we must help improve our community by making it more just and loving. Pope Francis teaches that this can be done through our “Political Charity” (Evangelii Gaudium #205, Fratelli Tutti #186-197). This love entails selecting government leaders who embody genuine care and service for people, especially the poor, disempowered, and vulnerable.
This discernment module uses the Ten Commandments and Church social teaching to reflect on the qualities we must look for in the political candidates in the coming elections. Let us reflect not only as voters but also as stewards of God’s will and vision for a better and more compassionate society. By voting with faith and moral conviction, we contribute to building a country rooted in truth, justice, and love. There are three possible ways to implement this module in a community setting:
- Focus on all the commandments and guide questions in one session.
- You can also group the commandments according to their common themes: 1st, 2nd and 3rd; 6th and 9th; 7th and 10th; and then tackle the 4th, 5th, and 8th commandments individually.
- Focus on each commandment in successive order for 10 sessions. Prior to coming to the session, the participants are invited to research as much as they can to learn about the candidates they are discerning to vote for in the national and local elections. They will prayerfully consider their initial candidates in light of this discernment module. They may use this handout (bit.ly/discerningtheballotquestionnaire) while going through the module to aid in their discernment. Resources on the 10 commandments and the Church social teachings may be accessed here for further readings: bit.ly/helpfulresources-discerningtheballot.
Also available in Filipino, Bicolano, Bisaya, and Hiligaynon. Download the modules here, and the campaign materials here.