Vote for the poor souls.

Quite by accident I ran into my old friend Phil Phewgoer a few days ago at the airport. He now walks with a slight limp, the poor soul. When I inquired about this malady Phil told me that ever since the directive to kneel during certain parts of the Mass came into effect, one of his knees began to bother him "just a little bit."

Despite his pain, Phil, like lots of loyal churchgoing Catholics would, sheepishly fell into line on the kneeling rule. I told him he was under no obligation to kneel if his body found it physically bothersome.

"If it makes them happy, it's no big deal to me," he said.

I wasn't sure who Phil was referring to by "them" in his response. The blessed Trinity, the hierarchy who promulgated the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), or the local parish pastor? We moved on to other topics: family, friends, and, of course, the upcoming presidential election.

"I love this election. Never felt more important. Like you, I'm part of the 'Catholic vote.' Everybody's working hard to get our vote--George Bush, John Kerry, Ralph Nader. Well, maybe not Ralph Nader. Even my bishop is working hard for my vote!"

Phil was right. This upcoming seesaw presidential election makes each and every vote incredibly valuable. Back in the days when votes could easily be bought, all precinct captains needed was a pile of five-dollar bills on election day to deliver the vote.

Things are much more complicated today. Survey and focus group results increasingly contribute to candidates' positions and postures. Even though you can't legally buy votes, people now get paid for participating in focus groups. I was about to ask Phil if he ever was part of a focus group, but he took the conversation in another direction.

"Funny thing about this election is that it's on All Soul's Day. Years ago we knew the poor souls were locked up in purgatory doing time for their misdeeds before achieving the Beatific Vision.

But today I've been wondering who the real poor souls are. Maybe it's the families and friends of those thousand plus American men and women who have died in Iraq. Maybe it's the families and friends of those tens of thousands Iraqis who have been killed in the last year and a half. Purgatory is here and now for lots of people, not after they die."

Who are the poor souls alive today? And who is responsible for getting them out of this purgatory? I doubt if these questions were ever posed to a focus group intended to discover the key to the Catholic vote. But my friend Phil Phewgoer got me thinking about this election like no candidate nor bishop has been able to do.

"Gotta go now. Just heard my flight called. Good seeing you again." Phil limped down the concourse toward his gate.

Yes, it was good to see Phil Phewgoer. Our brief conversation gave new meaning to this November 2.

PETER GILMOUR ([e-mail]) teaches at the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University Chicago.