Today our Catholic family weeps. In Minneapolis, young children gathered with their classmates and teachers to begin the school year with the Holy Mass—a place of prayer, peace, and joy. Instead, violence broke through stained glass, and innocent lives were taken.
As Catholics, we know that when one member of the Body suffers, all suffer together (1 Cor. 12:26). We are not strangers bound only by geography—we are family in Christ. These children are our children. Their parents are our brothers and sisters. Their pain is our pain.
Mourning with Hope
It is natural to grieve deeply, to feel anger, confusion, and sorrow at such senseless violence. Yet our mourning is not without hope. These precious ones were taken from us while in prayer. They died in the house of God, at the foot of His altar. We can be confident that Christ Himself gathered them tenderly into His arms, saying: “Let the little children come to Me, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 19:14).
In this sense, we recognize them as martyrs of innocence, whose lives were ended for no reason other than the hatred and darkness present in the world. Heaven now receives them as saints. While the world may remember them as victims, we in the Church proclaim them as intercessors—holy souls who now stand before God’s throne and pray for us.
United in Prayer
Let us not forget: every Rosary prayed, every Mass offered, every tear shed in faith becomes part of the healing God brings to His people. We are called to lift up the families, the parish community, and all who are wounded in body and soul. We entrust them to Our Lady of Sorrows, who knows what it is to weep at the death of her innocent Son.
Called to Greater Love
In moments like these, we may feel powerless. But our response as Catholics must be to love more deeply—to cling more closely to Christ, to pray more earnestly for peace, and to support one another as family. Evil will never have the final word. The Cross looked like defeat, but it was the place of victory. So too in this tragedy, Christ promises resurrection.
Closing Prayer
Eternal Father, we entrust to You the souls of the children who died in Your house. Receive them into the joy of heaven, and let their prayers strengthen the Church on earth. Console their families, heal the wounded, and deepen our unity as Your family. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our family mourns, but we do not mourn alone. And we do not mourn without hope.
Elizabeth Sutcliffe 