“Love God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Mt. 22: 37

While watching a recent “episode” of the presidential campaign I was suddenly reminded of an incident that happened a number of years ago as I was driving home from Mass one morning.

Someone hurled a large balloon full of soapy water at my windshield.

It struck with force, scaring the life out of me and completely covering my windshield with white foam so I was blinded. As I reacted, I nearly hit a tree and could have easily hit any number of people who were walking home from church.

When I finally came to a stop and pulled over to a safe spot, I was shaking and very angry that someone would find such dangerous and irresponsible behavior to be acceptable, and even entertaining.

Thoughts of “What were they thinking?!” ran through my head for the rest of the day, emphasized with a variety of expletives that I wouldn’t say out loud today. My feelings got the best of me, and would have proven to be very fertile ground for mistakes should I have needed to make any serious decisions that day.

What is notable for me is that an event of being assaulted and blinded by someone’s irresponsible and childish behavior would come to mind while watching a campaign by those who are seeking the highest, most responsible and, one would hope, most respectable office in the country ... that of President of the United States, the person who acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Should we not expect any person seeking such a high position to be a person of exceptional professional and intellectual excellence? Should we not hold them, as they should hold themselves, to those self-evident moral principles that make us human? Or should we put aside those expectations and choose for leaders those who make us feel safe or justified in our frustration and anger over any variety of issues?

Our Catholic faith, which forms the foundation of our decision making, should not be only a faith of the heart, a faith based on feelings. Jesus taught that the greatest commandment was to “love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.”

This requires that we be formed, not only in faith but in our conscience and in our intellect so we can exhibit wisdom in those areas in which we are called to make decisions.

In their document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” the United States Catholic Bishops, write, “The Catholic community brings important assets to the political dialogue about our nation's future. We bring a consistent moral framework – drawn from basic human reason that is illuminated by Scripture and the teaching of the Church – for assessing issues, political platforms, and campaigns.

“We also bring broad experience in serving those in need – educating the young, serving families in crisis, caring for the sick, sheltering the homeless, helping women who face difficult pregnancies, feeding the hungry, welcoming immigrants and refugees, reaching out in global solidarity, and pursuing peace. We celebrate, with all our neighbors, the historically robust commitment to religious freedom in this country that has allowed the Church the freedom to serve the common good.”

Let’s face it … sometimes it is so discouraging and exhausting to listen to candidates who are often saying a whole lot of nothing, and making us uncomfortable with what’s not being said, that it’s easier to just throw in the towel.

Still, Pope Francis encourages us to stay in the fray. "We need to participate for the common good. Sometimes we hear: a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves so that the leader can govern."

And then, there is prayer …

Mary Morrell can be reached at [email protected]. Her book, “Things My Father Taught Me About Love” can be found on Amazon Kindle. Follow her on Twitter @mreginam6.