Conférence de madame Anne-Marie Genest, prononcée lors d’un souper bénéfice pour la Marche chrétienne, dimanche le 15 mai dernier.(english version)

Good day all,

To begin, I'm 27 years old and I've studied in Theology. No relation with Politics. Nevertheless, I was asked to be this year for the elections a "placeholder candidate" (in French, a "candidat-fantôme" or more affectionately, "un poteau") for the Christian Heritage Party of Canada: the only pro-life, pro-family and pro-God party. My role boiled down to accepting my candidacy, so the Party would be available in my riding. Normally, I should have gotten a bit more involved, and we had been an organized and financially endowed party, I would have had to be visible in the city to make ourselves known.

It's somewhat ironic that I ended up a candidate for a party, given I've never been deeply interested in Politics. First of all, Politics had not connected with my values up to now. We all know how much it's compromising as far as the values of a Christian are concerned.

But I must admit it's just as ironic to end up here speaking before a gathering. I was actually telling an ex-work colleague that I had been invited to speak during a convention, emphasizing how they had chosen well-known names like myself. When I said that, she started to laugh... According to me, it's because she doesn't have a shred of faith in my notoriety!

Frankly, public speaking isn't my cup of tea. I thank you in advance for the comprehension you'll show for me.

Nevertheless, if Mr. Buscemi invited me, it's because he believed I had a message to bring.

I therefore hope my message will interest you, and also give you an incentive to get involved for the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Christ The King, in our country, in our surroundings.

I will therefore begin my story, since you must be wondering how a young woman like me got involved as a candidate for a political party, a girl like me who wasn't at all interested in Politics. It's quite surprising, firstly to myself, to end up in this situation... it's even quite funny.

The story begins in the church where I go to daily Mass, with the Fraternity of St-Peter which offers us a lot of support for our works and our souls. Small parenthesis: I believe that without these solid teachings which are given to us, I would not have had the courage nor the conscience to accept.

So there I was after Mass, praying, when someone nudged me and invited me to the political meeting that was going to be held in the sacristy. I was hesitant at first, because I couldn't see how I could contribute in any way... and honestly, offhand, I wasn't interested in that project, which was still totally unknown to me. But the idea amused me, and I went to take a look, because I knew the persons who were invited and I was wondering what they had to sell.

At the sacristy, I was named secretary of the meeting. Not too much of a commitment, so far. Being Catholic, of course we can't go nosing around while sitting on one's hands, if we have the possibility of doing some good. A very minimal good, you might say. Speaking of which, by doing my job as the meeting secretary, wouldn't I have done my part? I had no idea that the good Lord was calling me through that event. First trap: It turned out the reason for this meeting was to recruit candidates. I figured I had probably been invited just because I was there, but they didn't seriously entertain the idea that I would actively participate in the project. So I sat and heard about politics with interest for the first time, because what was being said was fundamentally moral and because it had Christian meaning. So I accepted to collaborate to the small task I was given.

Speaking of collaboration, I was asked toward the end of the meeting if I wanted to be a candidate. It was proposed to me to be a placeholder candidate. I would have, I was told, almost nothing to do, almost no implication. I was being given an opportunity… but I'm afraid. I was wondering what would happen to me... and especially, what got into him for wanting to get me involved. If he hadn't invited me, I wouldn't have had to answer. But through this, I saw that it was God that was expecting me to do something for Him.

More specifically, what interested me in the party was that its three main axes, the three front lines of the party are 1) life, 2) family and 3) God... Finally! a party which dares to assert itself and which has common sense. A party who dares to say God and the family are important, and that abortion is murder. All that stimulated my interest.

OK, I won't go into more details for the presentation of the party because it's always a bit complicated to present a political party, given they always have many aspects.

Let's get back to the meeting. There was another person present who raised some general objections about the party, but even more objections to the process itself. We all agree that, seen from the outside, the project can seem a bit ridiculous. Among others, some were saying: "It's a small party, we'll waste our time, we don't have a chance of winning."

To answer that objection, even though it's a logical objection, I remember a saying attributed to Saint Joan of Arc: "Man does battle, God gives the victory!"

Humanly, it's true that a small party has little chances of winning. But what is "winning"? From a supernatural point of view, man does battle for God, and on His side, God grants the results He wants at the moment He wants.

It can also be said that in the beginnings of the Church, Christianity had little chance for survival, from a strictly natural point of view, because the Apostles were only twelve, and mostly illiterate. But God, wanting His doctrine to be disseminated for the good of mankind, gave superabundance to their actions. I imagine these twelve met very important obstacles and were confronted with their limits. This is an edifying proof, which should encourage us and give us hope that when we work for God, God works for us.

Another objection was made, which I heard from a friend while I was collecting signatures: "But what business does religion have coming into Politics?".

These days, some focus so much on the separation of Church and State that they no longer make the difference between applying the social doctrine of the Church, and the political power of the Church. In fact, the party doesn't ask the Church to control the country, since their kingdoms are of two different orders. But Christianity must be intensely lived by all, and must enlighten the government of a country in any bill. A true law must lead us to virtue. It's in that sense that law leads to God. As a counter-example, we can think about immoral laws like those that encourage debauchery in our country. I'll let you make that list.

 To those who would say that this party is only for Christians: the answer is no! Because God made man and man is made for God. Any man is for God. Therefore the morality found in the Gospels is good for all. For example, what Government seeking the good of its people would be against the Biblical law "Thou shalt not kill"? Moreover, Christianity is made to be lived in a society; it's not made to be lived in a private way because we're afraid of how we'll be judged by others, because all in all we're afraid of our convictions. But are we really convinced when we are afraid of our own ideas and beliefs?

If God made the world, He knows how to govern it. With the laws of the Gospel, we can manage the world according to God's plan. God, who is the Inventor of the world, gives us the Instruction Manual in the Gospels for our greatest good. Therefore, our party is made for everybody, for our eternal happiness of course, but also for our earthly happiness. But it's difficult to pass that message in a society as dechristianized as ours.

Moreover, I had more personal objections. When Mr. Stefan Jetchick proposed that I become a candidate, I figured: is he pulling my leg? I didn't want to put my private life on a grandstand, nor be the prey of journalists. The old man in me spontaneously reacted with fear, by snapping back that I didn't feel like having mustaches drawn on me, on the signs we would put up in town...

Finally, things were solved quickly because we didn't have a budget for signs and we didn't have much time, since, because we're a small party, the organisation wasn't well established. So no publicity, I was able to live through a relatively quiet campaign, even though I recieved to requests for interviews which I delegated to Mr. Stefan Jetchick who was coaching the four other candidates.

Worse, I had another objection: I was short on time. A very down-to-earth objection, but also an important one. Not that it takes much involvement, since I was only going to be a placeholder candidate, but that still required time to collect my 120 signatures; something essential to submit your candidacy.

All in all, concerning my fear and my busy schedule, I decided to overlook them and especially study the positive reasons that would lead me to commit myself.

The general reason why I accepted was to be consistent with my Faith. Then, there are underlying reasons to that. The first reason is for the glory of God. We often hear the argument: give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. As if giving glory to God took something away from Caesar. As if by giving to Caesar, there was nothing left for God. This argument is related to the idea of the separation of Church and State. I've talked about this earlier, but to give glory to God, we have to be able to live this publicly. Not like an acquaintance of which we are ashamed and about which we avoid as much as possible talking regarding what relation we have. God should be the pride of His people. And He guides us like a good father guides his children and is the pride of his family.

In our society, God sets down the guidelines of the laws we must not violate. The Ten Commandments are in fact broader limits that a country's government must respect. It's therefore essential to have these laws, to be guided by God in the government of a country because once again it's God who is above our works, our industries, our commitments, and who must be above our government. We can do nothing without Him. He must be part of our daily actions.

But beyond the governmental issue, I tell myself that God is so good for his children that it's impossible to refuse Him anything — notably to give Him the glory which is due to Him. He even sent his Son to die for me. How could I indulge in navel-gazing because I was afraid of being ridiculed? I say this because I admit I worried a bit about what people would think of me when I was asked to be a candidate.

God's grace makes us holy and the surrounding culture, in principle, must help us participate in this grace. The surrounding culture as it were prepares the good soil in which the word of God will be able to germinate. But God will make his grace germinate more easily if the conditions are better. Of course, that must begin in our homes, but that's if we've had the luck of being raised in a Christian home, not all have had this luck... and if the social culture doesn't allow the flowering of virtues, how can we then sanctify ourselves? How can we prepare the good soil of current and forthcoming generations?

I therefore saw, through the possibility that was offered to me of participating in my country's political life, a way of showing God my gratefulness. Obviously, my life wouldn't have sufficed to pay back what He had given me, but that was just another reason to seize all opportunities. And anyway, what is the cost of participating? I run the risk of a few humiliations, incomprehension... But Jesus Himself, the Christ-King, was crowned with thorns, spat at in the face, ridiculed, treated like a nobody. For me personally, Jesus was subject to all that. That encouraged me to want to be His instrument. And in fact, by getting involved in politics, I was not crowned with thorns, nor was I spat at, nor treated below my condition. I must admit nevertheless that some people mocked my attempt a bit... and unfortunately even Christians familiar with me. Moreover, I must say I'm not a natural fit for this job; that doesn't help my credibility.

I'm still at my second reason: the Common Good. I would be rather nice to have a society that walked according to God's projects. But, how can I collaborate with this Good? Already, it's better to collaborate with the Common Good than to the sins of our leaders by supporting them. Otherwise, I would just participate in the global de-civilization process and moral degradation. Christianity, with its Benedictine monasteries and its saints, has civilized European populations because of the refinement of the lifestyles that Christian doctrine generates. Today, we no longer seek the Beautiful, the Good, the True; things for which man's intelligence is made for. Outcome: our children are aborted, and all kinds of other immoralities are accepted. So, to make a long story short, working for the Common Good, it's being charitable to the population and seeking to re-civilize it.

But I also saw the opportunity of supporting a noble attempt and encouraging orthodox initiatives. In the best of worlds, our party would succeed in electing one candidate, but that would require that all Christians, at least all you here present, would unify your forces to help those who work for a Christian society develop this project and other parallel projects. Ways to help are varied: it can be by offering money for the party, by proposing one's candidacy, but for everybody, by voting for this party of course. Because we, Christians, have the obligation to encourage good. And by the way, if I became a candidate, and if many incompetents became candidates in immoral parties just to make money, anybody can do it. And be assured of the support of the other CHP candidates. The difference is that in our party, we don't do that for the money, but for God.

Also, a friend made me think that another good reason to get involved was to prepare for my last judgment. This good deed, even if remained apparently fruitless, would be my advocate for me at the moment of my death, when my faults will speak against me. There is a nice saying by Saint Augustine: "God didn't need us for our creation, but He decided to need us for our salvation." I therefore personally must participate in the necessary efforts to save myself. Holy Scriptures explain this well.

So if our good deeds are our advocates, let's seek to do good. The Christian Heritage Party of Canada targets three main concurrent battles. First battle: we struggle to defend life even as we can see the pro-choicers hardening their stance. Whatever they say, we have still been created to live.

The second one: we try to foster the family, whereas families are breaking up all over, that children are often shifted around. And we know that an unstable family environment can lead to dire consequences on the child's life.

Third battle: we want to give back to God the Glory which has been taken from Him in this society where a hypocritical openness is shown to anything and anybody, while at the same time shutting ourselves from our cultural and Christian roots. By throwing God in the dungeon, we are setting ourselves up for disaster...

Let us pray the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this Heart which has so loved the world! May He have mercy on our country and stimulate in us many beautiful acts of heroic love. May He reign first of all in us, so that He may reign in our country. And may He reign in our country so that He may make His abode in a greater number of hearts. Let us ardently desire to console such a loving Heart.

To conclude my speech, I'd like to pass you the torch, since I'm forced, for a good reason, to put an end to my promising political career (with 0.4% of the votes at this election). I'll be entering the convent next Fall; we can't do everything in life. And it's not the task of the religious, nor clergymen, but to lay Christians, who themselves have this possibility, of working for the reign of Christ-King in our world. Still today, the Good Lord needs everybody, whether educated and ingenious or not, to regain all His rightful places in our society. If you want to follow in the footsteps of Christ, you laypersons who want to follow Him more closely, leave to the priests their task of sanctifiying souls. Hurry to set yourselves to work for God's reign by dedicating yourself in all spheres of society. And, with the risk of repeating myself, the teaching of Christ shows us to work in His fields, so our harvest may be abundant, even if the fruits of our harvest would remain unknown to us in this world. God knows how to make the seed grow in its good time, and we have the hope that in the other world, God will give us the reward.

Thank you for having listened to me. Have a good evening!