There will be tribulation but there is Jesus. It is what I keep hearing as I pray for the victims in the Sandy Hook School tragedy. We are struggling to comprehend how this can happen. But just today, there is an article that says that mass killings happen once every two weeks in the United States. How can that be true? The report says that many of them go unreported. The Sandy Hook murders grabbed our collective attention because it involved innocent children. But all murdered victims are innocent. Including those killed by abortion. This is not another politicized statement about what happened in Newtown. It is statement of the fact that we as a nation have lost our moral way. When there is not right or wrong then we struggle to maintain our civility. When we prevent people from praying and instead, bully them into thinking they cannot talk about God in "public" places, we only cause confusion in a world that is already filled with chaos. So where do we go from here? I say go to Jesus. He understands how we are feeling because he loves us so deeply that he died for us. Talk with his mother, Mary as well. She knows the pain of the loss of a child. God does bring comfort to those in need. There was a story about one of the staff at Sandy Hook who survived the shooting. She says that she spent the entirety of the ordeal in a closet with two other people and they prayed the Lord's Prayer out loud; in a public school no less. Let's lift our voices in prayer for all of the families in the world who are suffering because of violence. This tragedy should definitely motivate us to effect change.
Finding St Anthony Among the Lost Items
Saint Anthony of Padua, though often associated with finding lost articles, was primarily known in his lifetime as a powerful and eloquent preacher. Originally a Canon Regular of St. Augustine, he was inspired to join the newly formed Franciscan order after witnessing the martyrdom of the first Franciscan missionaries in Morocco. His conversion to the mendicant life under St. Francis of Assisi transformed him, deepening his commitment to poverty, humility, and evangelical preaching. Gifted with profound theological knowledge and a captivating speaking style, he traveled across Italy and France, drawing immense crowds with his clear and passionate sermons, converting many and combating heresy with his unwavering faith and intellectual rigor. Beyond his public ministry, St. Anthony was a mystic who enjoyed profound spiritual experiences, most notably a vision of the Infant Jesus. This intimate connection with the Christ Child is a hallmark of his iconography, often depicting him c...
