Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time - Fr. Mark Letter

Dear Parishioners,

As church people, I am sure, that we all were shocked by the events of last week. A young white man went into a black church in Charleston, South Carolina. He joined a Bible study. After an hour he pulled out a gun and started firing. In the end, nine people were killed. We have another mass murder to add to the list of shootings of the last few decades. In the next few days hands will be wrung and speeches will be made, but in the end nothing will probably be done by those in elected office that will change our society. Gun laws will remain the same and psychiatric treatment will become less available because it is expensive and mental illnesses are hard to treat. I do not claim to have all the answers to these difficult issues, but as a church leader I do feel like I need to express my frustrations at seeing violence carried into a house of worship.

One thing should strike all of us as Christian people and that is the attitude of the victim's families. When given a chance to talk to the murderer they spoke of words about forgiveness, conversion and mercy. If there is hope in what has happened it is that some people do wish to end the cycle of violence. It humbles all of us who claim to follow the religion called Christianity to see people who have been so tremendously hurt forgive the one who has wounded them so badly.

When people are pessimistic about Christians and claim that religion is the cause of all violence and bigotry in the world all we have to do is point to the words and attitudes of those that had loved ones murdered in Charleston. Their greatest prayer at their moment of sorrow was that the cycle of violence would end. And that should be our desire. And we should act when we can to make sure that something might be done to bring peace to our streets.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark