Loss of Innocents

I have heard about the tragedy in Connecticut yesterday, watched the reports this morning, and find it difficult to express my feelings.  Tragedies like this leave us numb.  In thinking of the parents who've lost little ones, I remember that my grandmother and grandfather never got over the loss of my mother, who died of cancer at the age of 35. I still feel her loss, too.

I also remember friends whose first child was a son the same age as my younger son. They lived in a high rise near Ottawa, Ontario, on the 11th floor, and lost their son, barely a year old, when a badly installed floor-to-ceiling screen detached while he was looking down at the traffic. I still feel horror and sorrow at the thought of his mom racing down to his broken little body. The couple visited us when Marc was 15, and by the way they talked to him, questioned him about his life, I could tell they were thinking, "Our son would be doing similar things..."

In an interview, the priest of the Catholic Church in New Town said that some parents had told him they were comforted just by his being with them. From my personal experience, I know that the mere presence of loving friends and family can be more comforting than words.

In such times, it also comforts me to know that God always brings good out of evil, and never allows us to endure more than we can bear, even though at the time it might not seem like it. One good thing I can think of now is that thousands, probably millions, of people all over the world are praying for the families, which will benefit not only the families, but those who pray as well.

This tragedy, coming at Christmas time, also makes me think of the Holy Innocents, who died in place of Christ, when Herod sent soldiers to seek and kill him. I heard several people on TV express regret at the possibilities never to be fulfilled by those 20 little ones. This is a thought I always have when thinking of the victims of abortion, especially survivors of abortion, often then left alone until they die, without sustenance or comfort.

I also thought this morning of my high school-aged granddaughters, and of my son  who teaches in a Montréal CEGEP--roughly equivalent to a US Junior College. We've had tragic shootings in schools in Québec, and this morning, I realized that he, too, is vulnerable.

My prayers and thoughts are with all those who will find joy difficult this Christmas season.