A Nation in Mourning

Dear Parishioners, 

Last Wednesday, our country was shocked by the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a speaker for traditional marriage, the pro-life movement, and conservative values.  

Charlie was well known for his many college campus events, where he would dialogue with students about various issues facing the country.  As many have expressed their prayers and support to the family of Charlie, calling for justice for this grotesque murder, I recall the words of Archbishop Charles J. Chaput after the shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018. “Nineteen years ago, I sat with the parents of children murdered in the Columbine High School massacre and buried some of their dead.  Nothing seems to change, no matter how brutal the cost.  Terrible things happen; pious statements are released, and the nation goes back to its self-absorbed distractions. The latest massacre in south Florida requires two things from all of us.  We need to pray for the victims and their families because — as I witnessed firsthand at Columbine — their suffering is intense and long-lasting.  And we need to be angry: angry at our lawmakers for doing so little to prevent these catastrophes; angry at our news and entertainment media for simultaneously feeding off these tragedies and fueling them with a steady stream of sensationalism and moral incoherence; angry at ourselves for perversely tolerating these things, and then forgetting them until the next round of violence. As a people, we have a lot to repent and confess.  And let’s not lie to ourselves that tighter gun restrictions — as vital and urgent as they now are — will solve the problem.  We’ve lost our respect for human life on a much broader scale, and this is the utterly predictable result.” The words from Scripture this last Thursday were a reminder that our Christian response is different.  As members of Christ’s Body, we “put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. (Col 2:12-13).  Grief and anger are natural, even unavoidable, especially in response to unjust treatment, trauma, and violence.  Charlie lived an admirable life of peaceful dialogue, especially with those who were hostile to him.  We join with those around the country praying for the repose of his soul and ask for the continued conversion of sinners to Jesus’ most merciful heart. 

In Christ,  

Fr. Luke Fleck