I recently came across this sobering statistic: There have
been seventy-four school shootings since a young man opened fire on Sandy Hook
Elementary. 74. The shooting at
Sandy Hook occurred on December 14, 2012.
There have been seventy-four school shootings in less than two years—seventy-four too many! This number sticks in my mind today as I
reflect on the shooting at Sandy Hook, as well as the more recent ones in Oregon
and Fairfax County, Virginia, and at the University of California-Santa
Barbara. You might think that post is
about gun control. It isn’t. I think there’s amore important discussion
that we need to have—one everyone can agree on, despite different opinions on
gun control.
Our world is filled with brokenness.
So many hearts are weighed down by pain, suffering, worry, trial, and struggle.
So many minds are flooded with thoughts
of self-worthlessness and inadequacy. So
many souls are inhibited by empty hearts.
I am certain that the lives of those impacted by these shootings are
burdened by these feelings, and I believe similar feelings led the perpetrators
to carry them out. How should we respond
to such atrocities? Let me tell you how the people of Newtown responded to the
Sandy Hook shooting. Almost immediately
after hearing of the shooting, two priests from a nearby Church rushed to school
to be with the children and their families.
Later that evening the town of Newtown gathered together for a vigil and
Mass to remember the lives lost too soon.
They gathered together! Feeling, I’m sure, not much else than a sense
of emptiness, the members of a town torn by unspeakable violence reached out to
each other with love.
There’s a great power in gatherings such
as this. Grief can be so heavy that
gathering with other hurting individuals must be so hard, yet we hear of vigils
after acts of violence and terror. When
our grief is heaviest we feel the need
to reach out to each other. I believe this same behavior is what we need to stop future violent acts from occurring. We can never know what someone might be
contemplating in response to the burdens in his or her heart. A simple smile to acknowledge their presence,
a hello, or maybe a hug for a visibly upset person might be what is needed to
lift those burdens. I believe this kind
of outreach can stop gun violence better than any law, regulation, or
punishment ever could. This is because
they have the ability to change people’s hearts before they resort to violence to cope with their pain.
This may be a lot harder than it
sounds. Maybe we just don’t have the
time or the energy to reach out. Maybe fear
prevents us from doing so because we don’t know what the other person might do
to us. I understand—this isn’t
easy! If that’s how you feel, let me
share with you two quotes from St. Therese of Lisieux: 1) So that is all Jesus wants from us, He does
not need our accomplishments, only our love.
He thirsts for our love.” and 2) “One
single act of love will make us know Jesus better… It will bring us closer to
Him for all eternity.” If we are to
make the world a better place, all that is absolutely necessary is one act of love. All that is needed is to stop a potential,
violent incident is one sincere act
of love. Love brings us closer to God,
who alone can end all suffering. We need
to share His love with one another.
First, however, we need to come closer to one another!
One of the
most common types of gatherings throughout history has been to share a
meal. Today Catholics celebrate Corpus
Christi, a day where we celebrate in a special the most wonderful meal given to
us by God, the Eucharist, and the gift of Christ’s real presence in it. This Meal,
instituted by Christ, brings us into a beautiful relationship with Lord,
bringing us closer to life with him in heaven.
Christ reminds us of this in today’s Gospel with these wonderful words:
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him
on the last day.” “Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” The Eucharist unites us
to God the Father through the Sacrifice of the Son. It also unites us to each other. It takes each of us—as culturally, socially,
politically, and economically diverse as we are—and calls us together,
reminding us of our true identity: children of God the Father. St. Paul’s words in today’s second reading
speak to this when he writes, “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though
many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” Like our earthly food is meant to sustain our
physical bodies so that we can carry out our daily activities, this spiritual
food is meant to sustain us in our spiritual growth and strengthen us in our
trials.
The Eucharist gives us the strength
to face difficult life circumstances.
Recall these words of Moses to the Israelites from today’s first
reading: “Remember how for forty years now how the Lord, your God, has directed
all your journeying in the desert so as to test you by affliction and find out
whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments.” In the midst of even the heaviest of trials
God is with us, guiding our hearts; comforting us in our sorrows; leading us to
a deeper relationship with Him; and preparing us to one day enter into His
Kingdom. The Eucharist gives us the
strength—the fortitude—to face life’s trials with courage and hope by filling
our hearts with God’s grace. We can then
fight through the trial and conquer it.
When we feel we have no fight left in us, we can turn the battle over to
the Lord, who will never lose. By the
grace of the Eucharist we can also carry God’s love to others who are facing
their own trials, and right behind Christ Jesus, we can help them wage war and
conquer their trials.
In the light of the recent
shootings and all other violence the world has seen and will see in the future,
let us come together as God’s children, despite our differences and our
brokenness, to share His love with one another.
Let us go to the Lord, receive the nourishment He has to offer us, and
then stretch out our arms to each other in a warm embrace so that we can fight violence
with the most powerful “weapon” in the history of humanity: the love of Jesus!
