Many have spoken eloquently about the unthinkable tragedy that occurred at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
It’s a horrific action that is unimaginable. How could hate fill anyone to the point of attacking the most innocent and vulnerable among us? It’s such a despicable act that evokes significant reactions.
Our hearts are filled with emotion. Thoughts and prayers go out to the families whose lives are changed forever, robbed of years of life and life experiences they had ahead of them but now only left with the heartache. Our hearts bleed for them.
As my wife Kathy and I discussed this terrible experience, we felt a connection to Annunciation Catholic Church. Our daughter was baptized there. We remember it as a beautiful and impressive house of worship. A place for reflection and prayer and certainly not a location for children to be shot and killed.
We are touched by such actions yet what can we do? Often, it’s a feeling of helplessness but it must be more.
I called my pastor at St John’s in Chaska to share some thoughts about our church and school and share that “you are not alone.” Just as volunteers and police and first responders came to the aid of those being attacked, it felt important to share that people are thinking of you, you are in similar places, doing God’s work. I did the same for an elementary school teacher friend at St John’s to share a similar message that people are keeping you in their thoughts and prayers. Not a brave act but hopefully one that brought a bit of comfort.
SOME THINGS MUST CHANGE
What have we come to when the unthinkable is now a reality. These are ones that come to mind.
First, let us NEVER FORGET! We shouldn’t forget Dec 14, 2012. It’s the day 25 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut — 19 kindergarten and 1st graders and six teachers and administrators — were slaughtered with an assault rifle. Stories of these little ones hiding and afraid, held in the arms of their protectors, their teachers, only to have their lives taken and families changed forever.
On Dec. 14 of each year at St John’s in Chaska, the church bells toll 25 times at 9 a.m. A prayer may be offered, but it’s a time to say we have not, nor will we ever forget. This year the bells will toll two additional times as we remember the “two little angels,” as the principal said, who lost their lives in the Annunciation shooting. We should never forget the loss of such innocence and our hearts ache and our thoughts and prayers will be with those whose pain is unimaginable.
MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Let us also recognize the growing mental health crisis that leads to such horrific hate and subsequent actions, all too often to our most vulnerable. We MUST do better by investing in and addressing this growing crisis, we see too frequently. We can’t stand by while this is happening. We can’t be cutting back on resources that will address mental-health-related research and preventative actions, or research and study that can lead to worldwide health epidemic protection. We must invest; we cannot stand by and watch the pain of young children losing their lives by bullets from assault weapons or families changed because we did not want to invest in our health care system of prevention. If we believe there are efficiencies to be gained in our governing processes, let’s use that to invest in things that make good and needed sense, like protecting our children from weapons meant to kill.
ACCOUNTABILITY
And finally, as we see this unwillingness to invest in the future health and safety of all who call this country home, and with the growing frustration with our representation across our country, we have to demand action that says high-capacity assault weapons are armaments of war, and not for the slaughtering of defenseless, young children.
This is not an assault on Second Amendment rights. It’s a plea for prevention of the assault on the most innocent among us.
We MUST hold decision makers accountable to serve and protect all who they represent. To demonstrate the courage to lead and ensure that no family has to stand up and share what it feels like to lose their 8-year-old son because our representatives didn’t have the courage to stand up for for those most vulnerable among us.
With the continued loss of young lives in school shootings and the horrific damage it creates, can’t we find the will and motivation to do the right thing? When we see our youngest, our most defenseless being attacked and our actions are muted, what have we come to? We can do better and we must do better!
Never forget the loss of such innocence and the lasting hurt and impact it creates, then go and give your kids a hug and tell them you love them, and then go vote for the Courage to Lead
God bless the families of Annunciation Catholic Church and School!
