The Rev. Gary Regula, pastor of Saint Jerome Catholic Church and School in Phoenix, shared his thoughts in the church's Aug. 9 bulletin.

In the bulletin, Regula meditated on the passage of Ephesians 4:31-32, which says, “Put away all bitterness, wrath and anger, wrangling and slander and all malice; be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. . . .”

“Now some may wonder where that came from, and while I would believe that similar words and sentiments can be found in the writings of other faith traditions, the above quote comes from the Bible,” Regula said in his note. ”To be exact it is from Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus.”

Regula reminded the congregation that as election season — a time often marked by a great deal of animosity and tension — approaches, it can be difficult to put bitterness away. The tendency to become angry and slander those who disagree can even infiltrate the church.

“There will be some in the church who will use their bulletins and pulpits to scare people that if they do not vote for a specific candidate that the salvation of their soul is at risk,” Regula said. “They will talk down to us as if we cannot think for ourselves, so that they must do the thinking for us and we just simply follow along.”

Regula exhorted the church to be compassionate to one another, but also to live with eyes wide open to the surrounding challenges.

"If we truly give ourselves over to the words from the letter of Paul then we will be able to live out the remaining parts of the quote…'as God in Christ has forgiven you,'" Regula said. "'Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.’”