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As we anticipate November 6th, I was called to write about November 7th, the day after. Yes, brothers and sisters, there is a day after. After the storm, the ads, the conversations, there is the calm, easy or uneasy sense of end. We have to deal with emotions, thoughts, feelings and perceptions. We have to deal with the only constant which is change.

The Truth of Our Self Determination

"Dear Lord, give me the truths which are veiled by the doctrines and articles of faith, which are masked by the pious words of sermons and books. Let my eyes penetrate the veil, and tear off the mask, that I can see your truth face to face." -St. John of the Cross

These words are as true today as when St. John of the Cross first uttered them. Rhetoric from the pundits, naysayers and know it alls drowns out the voice of God within us in this media driven society. We are bombarded with messages of buying and selling, playing off of our lack of confidence, our shortcomings for the sake of commerce. Ideas about our self worth are thrown about for the commercialism of things and ideas.

We have entered the final phase of multiple campaigns. Not only are the presidential races winding down, but the marriage equality campaign is also heating up in the final laps to election day.

As expected, we haven't seen the worse of the worse of TV ads decrying "gay" marriage. Rest assured, beloveds, they are coming. By the time you read this, you'll be seeing the dreadful commercials. Not only are they laughable on one end, the commercials are filled with lies about our lives, harm to kids and the eventual "demise of society as we know it". They are dramatic and designed to stir up fear, resentment and anxiety. The ads play upon fundamentalist notions of what marriage is and its so called roots in western theology. At their worse, they are disheartening, and frankly, toxic.