The Darkness of Hell Descends on Orlando

Holy is the true light, and passing wonderful, lending radiance to them that endured in the heat of the conflict: from Christ they inherit a home of unfailing splendour, wherein they rejoice with gladness evermore. 

Translated from the Salisbury Diurnal by G. H. Palmer 

When I heard about the tragedy in Orlando, I immediately thought of an often spoken comment from people of my generation, “I am not gay enough…..”  And wrongly, I will admit, said to myself, “Maybe this will let the young ones know that there was a struggle and it continues.”  Yup, a far too narcissistic response to a global tragedy.  

Then, I wept for loss. I wept for the pain of the parents and friends; wept of the lost innocence; wept because it could have been me and my friends; wept imagining that my parents/family/friends/you were receiving this notification……

In the face of this, it is not hard for me to pray for this deeply trouble gunman.  We know today that he was being followed by the FBI but had never taken action.  He was mentally unstable, given to relationship violence.  The man needed help.  

The blame game sickens me.  This one didn’t do their job.  The other overlooked something. Getting guns was too easy.  On and on it goes.

The gospels are clear.  Obama got it right: what hurts one of us hurts us all.  For Catholics, we are reminded of the mystical body of Christ. We are each responsible for building the kingdom by applying two commandments:m  Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself.   That’s it. This gunman and his family require our prayers.  We don't have an option.  Those like him, require our prayers. In them we see the results of the lack of charity and understanding in a world which by our actions and the words we foster in our daily life.  We jump to into blaming, condemning, marginalizing, finger pointing without any attempt to understand with a compassionate, understanding heart. We judge others as we judge ourselves, harshly.

On the broader scale, mental health issues are our issues to address.  Where is the system that helps treat the millions of emotional frail people who roam our streets and populate our jails?  We provide nothing to support and treat them.  

A dear friend called this incident “the darkness of hell”  In it, we have an important calling.  “God is Light in in God is no darkness”  We are called to be the embodiment of the light "that dispels the darkness of fear” and be the vehicles of grace that is love. This is the fight as I see it.

This fight begins within each of us.  Are we really able to “love our neighbor as ourself?”  Do we love “ourself” enough? Or, are we bringing our true feelings about or self in the eyes of God to life in the world by our complicit support of hate, inadequate systems of care, withholding the Love that conquers evil?

I pray for the dead, their families and friends, for the gunman and his family all of whom have experienced such pain and suffering. I pray for each of us that we have the courage to be the light in the darkness the world, in its pain, so desperately needs.

MAy the boundless love that is the resurrection from the dead fill their lives and ours with grace.