Last Friday, our CV team ended the week as I’m sure many of you did—sad, angry, and bewildered over the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Thanks be to God, this week began with signs of hope, as team members shared stories from the weekend:
“My husband’s friend from high school reached out asking if he could join us for Mass. He’s a Presbyterian and I don’t think regularly attended the service before. I was so thankful he came with us!”
“I got my haircut on Saturday and my barber said he’s been an atheist a lot of his life but this incident has inspired him and his wife to get baptized and start going to church!”
“My son, an Evangelical who headed up a Turning Point chapter, asked if he and some friends could join me for Mass this weekend. After Mass, he told me he wants to enter OCIA.”
None of this erases the injustice done to Charlie and the pain inflicted on his family. It does, however, illustrate something important when looked at in context of what we saw happening all over the world: heartbreak and justifiable anger over Charlie’s death but also the celebration of his life.
Many are asking, “What can I do?” Rather than silence a movement, Charlie’s assassin has energized one, and begun many smaller but mighty movements in the hearts and minds of people to whom freedom of speech and the right to peacefully advocate for one’s beliefs are paramount.
For us at CatholicVote, moving forward means redoubling our efforts to inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.
And that doesn’t just mean elected officials. It means all of us.
What better way to honor Charlie Kirk than to step up, confident in our devotion to Christ, and engage the world around us as he did?
Not all are called to hold rallies on college campuses, but we can each have an impact on our corner of the world. And that can be done in many ways. Here are just a few:
- Register to vote and make a point of encouraging others to register.
- Vote any time you have an opportunity; there are no unimportant elections.
- Actively support worthy candidates for office and contact your current elected officials to let them know what you think on key issues.
- Join the fight for pro-life in Virginia or help support CatholicVote’s ballot initiatives in Colorado by contacting catholicvotevolunteer@catholicvote.org
- Be part of our larger CatholicVote Action Network.
- Hold study sessions with your friends to become more familiar with the Catholic perspective on important topics, especially the pro-life and gender issues.
- Seek roles on school boards, parent-teacher associations, and other places where faith-based thinking can make a difference.
- Most important of all, pray, pray, pray. You can join CatholicVote’s 4th annual novena to St. Michael the Archangel, which starts September 20. More about that soon.
Hosting The Charlie Kirk Show yesterday, Vice President JD Vance urged all of us to “Get involved. Get involved. Get involved.” He added that the best way to honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy is to “shine the light of truth like a torch in the very darkest places.”
As Charlie always said at the beginning of his show: Buckle up, everybody. Here. We. Go.