Live*Love*Life 40 Days of Lent~Dear Joe Biden

Dear Joe Biden,

I know you are extremely busy with your Presidential campaign and probably do not have time for personal letters from strangers.

However, I am concerned for you and I would like to explain why.

First, a little about who I am.
I am a Catholic living in Oregon.
I am married with children and grandchildren.
I am an RN working in Treatment and Recovery.
I go to church every week and I am teaching Sunday school to 4th and 5th graders.

I had been away from the Church for an extended amount of time, but I am back. Back home actually. Sometimes we think home is, not only the house we were raised in, but the town too.

Being "Home", back in church,  has been quite the learning experience. Sometimes I wonder where I was all those early years in Catholic grade school. So much sounds new, like I've never ever heard some of these stories. Yet it is the same Bible now as it was then.

So back to my worries about you.

This week we are studying about the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. We are learning about sin and how we harm the person God created us to be. How we wound our human dignity and offend God and damage our relationship with the Church and other people.

I have noticed that politicians are using our unborn children as pawns more frequently in government campaigns.

Humans are not disposable.

You have said you are a practicing Catholic yet you endorse Planned Parenthood who is one of the largest abortion providers in our country. You want to uphold Roe verses Wade.

Mr. Biden, our Catholic Catechism is very specific on the ramifications of mortal sin. And for those who lead others to do the same.

This reading is straight out of our Catechism.

Respect for the souls of others: scandal

2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.

2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."⁸⁶ Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing.⁸⁷

2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion.

Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to "social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible."⁸⁸ This is also true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke their children to anger,⁸⁹ or manipulators of public opinion who turn it away from moral values.

2287 Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!"⁹⁰

Respect for health

2288 Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.

Concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the attainment of living-conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment, and social assistance.

2289 If morality requires respect for the life of the body, it does not make it an absolute value. It rejects a neo-pagan notion that tends to promote the cult of the body, to sacrifice everything for its sake, to idolize physical perfection and success at sports. By its selective preference of the strong over the weak, such a conception can lead to the perversion of human relationships.

So Mr. Biden, you can see why I am concerned for you and your soul.

I will say I am not really fond of President Trump. He has said and done some really odd things. But, he stands up against the immorality of abortion and is not afraid to do so. That takes courage in this day and age.

I would hope you would find the same courage to follow your Church's teachings and protect our unborn children and their mothers.

Our life here is short, our life in eternity is just that. Eternal. I hope to see you in heaven one day.

Take care and good luck with your campaign. I will be praying for you.

Martha Briese

Me and my husband 💗