Please note: As of November 15, 2016, I’ll be taking a hiatus from answering questions here from returning Catholics. If you have a question, please search the site, or email me.
How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
Now that the election is over, some of my friends are 
distraught and in despair over the results and the future, while others are jubilant and say they’re looking for “payback.” As a recently returned Catholic, how do I bridge the gap? I didn’t have strong feelings one way or the other.
One place to start might be the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Prayer After an Election,” in which we are called to give thanks for our blessings in the United States and to pray for all elected officials and public servants. I find the prayer especially relevant today as it also asks that our differences be healed.
Beyond that, live and reflect generosity to your friends who seek retribution, regardless of whether their candidate won or lost. We as Catholics know so well the power of continual conversion; we have the opportunity to experience it every time we go to confession and resolve to begin anew. We pray that those who run successfully or unsuccessfully for public office, Catholic or not, are open to the same changes. Remember that Jesus died for and loves us all equally. May we attempt to reflect His love even as we stand true to our beliefs and admonish sinners with compassion.
