A Note from Father Rich
Friends,
If my writing here brings you a little peace, clarity, or comfort, I hope you’ll consider supporting this ministry by becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps me keep Message from the Margins alive and growing—reaching more people who are searching for faith that feels like home again.
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With gratitude and peace,
Fr. Rich Vitale
MessageFromTheMargins.com
The morning after an election always feels like a hangover for the soul. Whether your candidates won or lost, the air seems heavy with judgment, noise, and unfinished arguments. We wake up scrolling, defending, explaining, justifying. But this morning, as the dust settles, I keep hearing a quieter voice whispering: the Kingdom of God is not decided by majority vote.
Jesus didn’t build a movement on victory speeches or campaign slogans. He built it on tables shared with tax collectors, zealots, and skeptics—people who would have argued endlessly about the issues of their day. Yet He didn’t ask them to agree before He loved them. He asked them to love one another even when they didn’t agree.
When we forget that, we lose our center. We turn faith into ideology, community into tribe, and grace into ammunition. Today, before you post or reply, before you assume who’s “right,” take one deep breath and remember whose image is stamped on every person you encounter. The work of democracy is important, but the work of discipleship is eternal.
So maybe today isn’t about winning or losing. Maybe it’s about choosing again to live like people who believe mercy is stronger than fear, that every neighbor’s dignity still matters, and that hope hasn’t left the room. Because no matter who sits in power, Christ’s call remains the same: love your enemies, feed the hungry, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim good news to the poor.
And that work starts, as always, the morning after.