Tragedy struck today in Boston. Innocent people violently attacked for no reason. And as I watched live news coverage all I could feel was anger and sadness. I think, though, that the anger outweighed the sadness.I was angry at whoever was responsible. Angry because they are a coward. Angry because they destroyed innocent human lives. Angry because they lashed out at people they never knew for no good reason. Angry because they caused people so much pain.
It was similar to the way I felt after the tragedy in Newtown. I remember going for a run after Newtown and running myself ragged, using the anger and the pain as fuel for my workout, running faster and longer to stop myself from weeping at the senseless loss of life.
But the longer I watched the news today, the more articles and pictures I saw, the more the sadness began to outweigh the anger. I was sad because of the suffering people were enduring. Sad for those families who lost a loved one. Sad for those who could not contact their loved ones. Sad because so many in our world seem to have lost their way.
But with this great act of violence and anger, we see courageous acts of love. We see people putting themselves in harms way to rescue those who were injured. We see reports of other marathon runners running straight to local hospitals to donate blood for the injured. We see people forgetting about themselves and thinking about those around them.
It is at times like these that we see people forget their differences and live out true love. We forget about our differences and remember that we are all united in our frail humanity. We stop seeing race, age, color, and gender and see one another as beloved children of the Father.
Even more so, though, it is times like these where we have an incredible opportunity to see God's love at work in our world. God, who in His great and merciful Providence saw fit to give us a free will always seeks to provide us with grace in times of suffering. It is in time following the greatest suffering, the greatest tragedies, that we see God's loving hand most at work, bringing healing and comfort, consolation and peace.
The greatest example of this is, of course, the Cross. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ was perhaps the greatest act of injustice ever committed--Creation violently overthrew its Creator. The God who is Love allowed us to persecute and kill Him. And yet out of this great tragedy, this great injustice, God brings the salvation of the world!
St. Paul reminds us that, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20). Today, we were forced to watch helplessly as sin reared its ugly head and struck publicly and violently into our world. But we have Hope because sin strikes out our heel, but Christ strikes at his head.
So let us continuously pray for an outpouring of God's grace and mercy, especially upon all of those affected by this terrible tragedy. Let us raise up an army of voices calling for the Lord's healing touch. And let us look with the eyes of Faith to see the good that the Lord will bring out of this great injustice. In honor of all of today's victims, let us "Run so as to win" not just a perishable crown, but the imperishable crown of salvation (1 Corinthians 9:24-25) so that when we meet our Creator face to face, he will say to us, "Well done my good and faithful servant."My prayers will be with all of those families affected by today's events, especially with those families whose loved ones have passed away. I pray that the Lord would find a way to bring them peace and consolation.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. And may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Memento Mori!
God Love You!
