God is with us always and everywhere. The Old Testament book, Joshua 1:9 tells us, “I command you: be firm and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.” God will never desert us or turn His back on us. He loves us more than any one else will ever love us. This God who loves us has an agenda, a plan, for each one of us: eternal salvation with Him forever and ever in His heavenly kingdom. Jesus in Mt 5:12 concludes the Beatitudes with, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Yes, our reward will be great in heaven, if we follow God’s agenda and not our own.

Jesus obeyed the Ten Commandments completely. God expects us to do likewise. Jesus lived the Beatitudes to their fullest. God expects us to do likewise. What is God’s agenda for us? We are to align our will with His will. We are to live our lives just as Jesus taught his Apostles and continues to teach us through His Church. Jesus tells us in Mt 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

If you follow your own agenda, then doing God’s “will” will be impossible. How does one know whether or not he is doing God’s will or his own? Let me take an unusual approach to help you decide. Take a minute and look at yourself. What is your view of the world? What influences your thinking and the choices you make? Now answer the following questions honestly. Are you first and foremost a worker (small business owner, union member, employee, home maker, or student); or, are you a Catholic Christian and child of God? Are you first and foremost a member of a political party (Democratic, Republican, or a third party); or, are you a Catholic Christian and child of God? Are you first and foremost an American; or, are you a Catholic Christian and child of God committed to living the truth found in the complete Word of God? If you do not see yourself first and foremost as a Catholic Christian and child of God, you are following your own agenda and not God’s.

In America, we have the right to vote on moral issues and for candidates for public office. The U.S. Constitution gives each adult American the right to vote. The Word of God, as taught by the Catholic Church, helps each Catholic Christian develop a well-formed conscience. With a well-formed conscience one can exercise his or her vote in line with God’s agenda. Here’s the Our Sunday Visitor Catholic Dictionary’s definition of conscience: “The ‘inner core’ of the human person that identifies morally good and evil choices in accord with right reason and the teaching of the Church.” A well-formed conscience cannot contradict Catholic moral teaching.

Catholic Answers is a non-profit Catholic Apostolate committed to accurately teaching the truth of the Catholic Church. In 2004 it published a voter’s guide entitled, Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics. I used the insight found in this publication, the Bible, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to complete the rest of this column. A complete copy of this voter’s guide is available on the internet at www.catholic.com. You can order a copy by calling Catholic Answers at 1-888-291-8000.

If we truly want to do God’s will, we cannot vote for candidates or issues that are diametrically opposed to Catholic moral teaching. All Catholic Christians have a moral obligation to study, accept, and apply in their daily live all that the Church teaches. This moral obligation is especially important when you step inside the voting booth. There are five “non-negotiable” issues that you as a faithful Catholic must accept and apply appropriately when voting for a candidate for office and when voting yes or no on an issue. The five “non-negotiable” issues are: 1-Abortion, 2-Euthanasia, 3-Fetal Stem Cell Research, 4-Human Cloning, and 5-Homosexual “Marriage”. These five non-negotiable issues are always morally wrong and must never be advanced and supported by any government or law. A person commits serious sin if he or she endorses or promotes any of these activities.

At the moment of conception, God implants a soul within the child. Abortion kills a child of God.

No one has the right to commit suicide. No one has the right to take the life of an innocent person. Euthanasia is murder; although it is often incorrectly viewed as “mercy killing” and a way of showing compassion to the elderly and ill. A person does not show compassion when he takes the life of another. This responsibility of life and death always belongs to God.

Human embryos have souls. They are human beings with all the genetic make-up to grow in to an adult. Fetal Stem Cell Research destroys a human life in the hope of developing a cure for an illness or disability. No one has the right to do evil in the hope of achieving a good.

God is the sole creator of human life. Human Cloning is intrinsically evil because it goes around God and His way of creating new human life.

Marriage has always been and will always be the union of one man and one woman. Homosexual “Marriage” between two men or two women is immoral and runs counter to God’s plan for Holy Matrimony.

As a faithful Catholic you cannot vote for a candidate who supports any of these five non-negotiable issues. In a given race, if each candidate takes a wrong position on one or more of these issues, you may vote for the candidate who supports the fewest of these issues or the candidate who is least likely to advance immoral legislation.

Remember, you are first and foremost a Catholic Christian and child of God. When you step into the voting booth, trust the Church and all it teaches, and vote according. Focus on God’s agenda, not you own.

For more insight read CCC paragraphs 1776-1802, 2270-2275, 2276-2283, 2357-2359, . Also, pull out your “Catholic” Bible and reference Gn 19:1-29; Jos 1:1-9; Mt 5:1-48; 6:1-34; 7:1-29; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:8-11.