The United States is the only country on the entire planet with more guns (at least 400 million and counting) than people (335 million). No other country has even half as many guns per capita as we do.
The number of guns manufactured in America has nearly tripled over the past two decades, from 3.9 million in 2000 to 11.3 million in 2020. (And it’s not as if guns wear out like light bulbs, refrigerators, or cars.)
We endure more mass shootings than all other developed countries combined. It’s not even close.
The frequency — and body count — of mass shootings has increased as well.
13 of the 20 deadliest mass shootings since 1982 happened in just the past decade.
There were 118 school shootings in 2018, doubling the previous record of 59. Then 119 in 2019. Then 114 in 2020. Then 249 (not a typo) in 2021. And already 137 so far in 2022 (with more than half the year still to go).
And all the while, gun industry profits have exploded.
Look, America’s gun manufacturers may well be beyond listening to reason. There are, after all, more people to scare — and more profits to be made — no matter the carnage.
But let’s make them hear us — our pain, our fury, our disgust — anyway.
As an Iraq War veteran and the son of a World War II Navy hero, I find Memorial Day to be profoundly sacred and somber. My favorite Scripture relating to military service is: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). This selfless devotion is one virtue that every person who serves in the military has in common. Since Memorial Day was established in 1868, we have cherished the memory and the sacrifice of the fallen.
When I was deployed to Iraq in 2004, I was inspired by the great reverence we showed our courageous sisters and brothers who were killed in action. Typically, their bodies would arrive at Balad Air Base near midnight on the way home. There would be hundreds of troops gathered to receive and honor the fallen during these "Patriot Missions." A chaplain was always present to render honors, offer prayers, and provide comfort.
For my first Patriot Mission, I was told the name of the fallen soldier and how he was killed. There was no other information available about him, so I planned to pray Psalm 23 during the service. Every chaplain serves every person regardless of her or his religious beliefs. On the way to the flight line, the sergeant said to me, "Chaplain, we just learned that the soldier is Catholic." I was honored and moved to offer the Catholic Rite for the Reception of the Body during the ceremony on the plane.
Balad Air Base was the major medical staging area for our troops. We would triage the injured as they arrived by helicopter or ground transport to the medical tent. The large tent, known as the CASF (Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility), had every possible space taken by medical cots, literally lining the hallways due to the large number of casualties. We would send troops who could survive the trip on a medevac airlift to Germany for care. We would send troops with manageable injuries to a hospital tent nearby. Troops who urgently needed life saving measures would receive an operation on the spot.
I was able to articulate what it means to be a medical group chaplain at war when I participated in a SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat in October 2021. Six amazing veterans and three superstar songwriters gathered for the weekend and crafted eight songs about our military experiences. It was a time of great solidarity and creativity. I was co-writer of three of the songs. It was an honor to be paired with Jay Clementi for a two-hour writing session that resulted in our song, "Born to Bless the Fallen." Jay is the musical director for SongwritingWith:Soldiers and has written songs for such legendary artists as Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, and Darius Rucker.
Here are the lyrics to "Born to Bless the Fallen," written with Jay Clementi:
I'm the loving reminder of the holy
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines all come to me
I'm the promise we'll leave no one behind
I'm there when the flicker of life leaves their eyes
Chorus: I'm the last face they see before the face of God
I give them peace and comfort as they're moving on
Their souls are set free from the burden and the pain
I send them off to heaven but the hurt remains
I'm at the mercy of my calling
I'm born to bless the fallen
I pray over them with the words written in red
There's a two-thousand-dollar bounty on my head
Nobody sees them when they look at me
My wounds are always here, they're just too deep to see
(Chorus)
They showed no greater love, fought to the end
I'd do it all a thousand times again, be there for them
(Chorus)
With Russia's assault ravaging Ukraine, we are once again reminded of the horrors of war and of those who bear its burden. As we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for our country this Memorial Day, please pray as well for their families, for their military colleagues, and for all who loved and cared for them in life and in service. On Memorial Day, it is our special privilege and sacred duty to bless the fallen.
FATHER RICHARD M. ERIKSON IS A PRIEST OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON AND A RETIRED AIR FORCE BRIGADIER GENERAL AND CHAPLAIN. "BORN TO BLESS THE FALLEN" IS AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE AND SPOTIFY
Jim Marsh ARCWP and June Chesterfield ARCWP at Demonstration for gun safety outside Schenectady City Hall on Sunday, May 29, 2022
May 24, 2022
Dear Gov. Abbott:
I listened to your press conference subsequent to the mass shooting that took place yesterday in Uvalde at the Robb Elementary School. You indicated that such a horrific tragedy cannot be tolerated and swift action will be taken - we will do everything necessary to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
This is precisely my point in writing to you. I understand that you will be speaking this Friday in Houston (May 27) at the NRA Annual meeting, along with former President Donald Trump. NRA chief executive officer Wayne LaPierre expressed his enthusiasm by saying: “President Trump delivered on his promises by appointing judges who respect and value the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and in doing so helped ensure the freedom of generations of Americans.” How willyou reconcile the freedom of Americans with the “slaughter of innocents” in the days ahead?
It has been a very slippery slope from “bearing arms as part of a well-regulated militia” to the unfettered right to own and carry weapons, weapons of mass destruction, as a symbol of American individual liberty. What about the rights of those 19 children and 2 adults?
From the Jewish scriptures, we read “Yahweh, your God, will sensitize your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you will serve God with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will live. This Law that I give you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it beyond your reach. It is not up in the heavens … nor beyond the seas. No, the word of God is … in your heart. I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life so that you may live … a long life in the land which God swore to give you.” [Deuteronomy 30]
I know you are Catholic and I am a Catholic priest who is praying with and for you in these difficult days. Prayer always involves response and action; God waits on us. The African proverb says it so well: “When you pray, move your feet.”
Enough with the platitudes—the time to act is now! It is ten years since Sandy Hook. Ninety percent of Americans and nearly 75% of NRA members support universal background checks, yet we are being held hostage by U.S. Senators, beholden to the NRA, who refuse to vote on HR8 that passed a couple years ago in Congress.
As Chief Executive of Texas, what will you propose to ensure that this doesn’t happen again in another Texas school? What will be your message at the NRA annual meeting?
We are still celebrating Eastertime in our Catholic tradition, and fast approaching the Feast of Pentecost. May we all have the wisdom, courage and fortitude to do what is right!
Joan Chesterfield of Clifton Park holds a sign and looks on at the vigil/open forum on gun violence within our communities event at Schenectady City Hall on Sunday.
SCHENECTADY – Several speakers at Sunday’s End Gun Violence Vigil/Open Forum held on the steps of Schenectady’s City Hall mentioned the holiday weekend. The time is meant to honor fallen U.S. service members, yet the group before them was gathered to remember others recently lost.
“As we come up on Memorial Day, I think of soldiers that made the choice to lay down their lives to protect us, where these babies didn’t have any [choice],” said event co-coordinator Justin Chaires, of the 19 children killed Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Victoria Charlotten originally came to Chaires for help organizing the event after the mass shootings in Buffalo and Southern California on May 14 and 15, respectively. But, Chaires said to the crowd Sunday that he told Charlotten when she first came to him that more might happen before the event.
“I said to her, ‘Tori, you’re planning something two weeks away. I hope to God that I’m wrong, but I feel like something else is going to happen,’” Chaires said.
The massacre in Texas added more names to the list of people remembered at the vigil and more for each person to speak about. It also added to the ways those gathered to relate to the victims and the victims’ families.
Mystics, prophets, and celebrators of sacramental life might have different meanings for different people so for the purposes of this essay, I will propose the following definitions.
A Mystic is a person who, in the course of their daily devotional life, in whatever form that takes, experiences a felt presence of God. Maybe not every day but they encounter God often enough in life to be in relationship with God.
A Prophet in the Christian tradition is a follower of Jesus, who tries to live out the prophetic ministry of Jesus; a message of inclusive love and non-violence, speaking truth to power, being in solidarity with those on the margins and an all-encompassing trust in Abba God and the enduring life of the reign of God.
Celebrating Sacramental Life includes and goes beyond the seven sacraments of the church. The definition of a sacrament as an outward sign of an inward grace, means that these outward signs are present in everyday life and accessible to all in moments of grace or when in need of grace and healing.
To live more compassionately and justly as mystics, prophets, and celebrators of sacramental life is the very call of being church, the Body of Christ on earth, and many good and learned people grapple with this constantly. For this essay, I will narrow the focus to two points:
1. The need for mystical, prophetic, sacramental, and relatable theology.
2. Full and continuous formation in that theology and especially in the early years. Pedagogic research shows the value in Early Childhood Education, and this applies to learning theology too. I will focus primarily on the formation of young children and the struggles of their parents in this essay.
Young children need an age-appropriate theology and one that is appropriate for the context of their world which is very different from that of many of the adults in their lives. Since Vatican II the formula has been to bring up children using the traditional bible stories and then when they are older explaining metaphor, etc., but in certain instances this is not possible. For example, the story of Creation: as early as pre-school, children are learning about the cosmos, planets and dinosaurs. It is no longer appropriate to teach them about God as Creator using the Genesis story – they need to learn about the Big Bang and evolution with God language attached. If we wait until they can understand metaphor, they will have lost the awe and wonder of experiencing God as Creator in their early years. Rather, we need to give them evolutionary creation stories and then, when they are older, introduce them to the metaphorical stories of our tradition. While I respect the biblical canon of the Church, it was decided by men who lived in the 5th century, we need to offer our children a lectionary that makes sense for the context of their lives.
Many children are not exposed to Christianity, not because their parents are anti-God but because they do not know how to equate the values they wish to give their children with the current mainstream Church teaching of Atonement theory. I am aware of Catholic churches which emphasise the love of God, the priest does not give ‘fire and brimstone’ type homilies, but this ignoring of Atonement theory does not diminish the damage it has done to people’s spirituality. The prayers of the Mass still use sacrificial language and if a person was raised on penal substitution or satisfaction theory then they cannot hear anything else. The church needs to put Atonement theory to bed and formally offer the people of God a new more appropriate theology – that of Accompaniment and Blessing. Our children need a clear theology that is congruent and that they should hear it in Catechism class, in Mass and at home. They need a firm container of congruent authentic faith that makes sense in their world, they need to be equipped with language that describes this theology and thus equipped, they can grow spirituality and mature as mystics in the faith.
A theology of Accompaniment and Blessing is well laid out in Elizabeth Johnson’s book Creation and the Cross. She uses the same motif of question and answer that Anselm of Canterbury used when he wrote Cur Deus Homo to explain Satisfaction Theory. If ever the church took the brave step to change, it should be required reading for all catechists! For the Church to continue to embrace Anselm’s 11th century teachings is denial of centuries of scholarship and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the growth of the Church. Using diverse academic disciplines modern biblical scholarship can take a bird’s eye view of the scriptures and we find a loving, forgiving and endlessly patient God who would never demand human sacrifice to be appeased. Reading the letters of Paul and other early church documents with a historical understanding of words like sacrifice, redemption, atonement, and saviour, we see that the early Christians did not believe that Jesus died to appease his wrathful father for our individual sins. Rather, several different metaphors are used to describe the enormity of God become human.We have a God who has accompanied us from the earliest days of our evolution, who has entered into a covenant with us and continues to draw humanity forward into the New Creation.
The theology of Accompaniment does not reduce the Incarnation to Jesus’ need to suffer and die but rather considers the whole life of Jesus – his message and ministry. We are encouraged to live as Jesus did, to embrace his inclusive and welcoming way of being; we are called to be co-creators of the reign of God that he said was within us.
In this theology, we are invited to consider Jesus in the context of his time, 1st century Palestine, Roman occupation, burdensome religious laws and a Patriarchal society. In this context we can see that the way Jesus is depicted in the gospels shows radical inclusivity – the fact that women are mentioned and even named is remarkable for a time when women and children were considered the property of men. Knowing the iron fist rule of Rome, we have a new understanding of just how subversive Jesus was in teaching the new reign of God. Understanding the religious norms of his time, we realise that his welcome and open table fellowship was scandalous and outside of the bounds of a devout religious Jew.
Rather, than fill our children with guilt because Jesus died for their sins, we can encourage them to emulate Jesus in their lives. Yes, being kind and forgiving as Jesus was, is a good first step but perhaps we can invite them to a prophetic stance by helping them identify what is the ‘Rome’ of our day.
How then do we speak to our children about the incarnation, cross and resurrection in a theology of Accompaniment? Jesus was not ‘sent’ to earth to fix us but rather God became human because God loves God’s creation and in becoming human is in solidarity with our human reality. Jesus was crucified because the authorities were threatened by his radical message and his popularity and because he refused to refute his message.On a mystical level, our God suffering, is God with us in all our suffering through time. The resurrection was God’s vindication of Jesus, God calling us to follow the Jesus’ Way of non-violence and radical love. There is so much more and we need to encourage our children, as they grow, to deepen their understanding of Jesus the Christ.
In truth it is all Mystery, and we cannot fully comprehend God, all we have is the intuition and experience of generations of mystics and believers that God is Love and is with us and wants every good for all creation. Uncertainty and mystery do not make for a weak faith - as Richard Rohr reminds us – [scientists have] ‘come up with things like ‘principles of uncertainty’ and dark holes. They’re willing to live inside imagined hypotheses and theories. But many religious folks insist on answers that are always true. We love closure, resolution, and clarity, while thinking we are people of ‘faith!’ How strange that the very word ‘faith’ has come to mean its exact opposite’. Giving our children the more open-ended and loving theology of Accompaniment and Blessing is more likely to encourage curiosity and spiritual growth.
With this foundation of an open, loving theology, which embraces science, how do we equip our children to be mystics, prophets and celebrators of sacramental life? The early years of a child’s religious formation comprises allowing them to witness the sacramental life of the family and community, the prayers, candles, rituals and sacramentals. Ideally children should be allowed to witness the rhythm of the family and community worshipping and praying, but sadly most churches exclude young families by sending them to the cry chapel. It is not surprising then, that those young parents would rather spend Sunday morning at the park! It is time to change the model of large parishes and return to the ways of the early church where small communities gather in homes to celebrate the Eucharist and children are welcome at the table.
While lessons and catechism are important, the reality is that most formation for children and adults is through the liturgies. What they see, hear, pray and sing each week, year after year becomes imprinted and formative and will either carry them through life or they will discard it in adulthood. It is vital that the language of the liturgy is inclusive, reflects the reality of the world and life of the people. The sacrament of the Eucharist needs to be open to all, a sacrament of transformation not a reward for the ‘in group’.
Along with welcoming and inclusive liturgies the Church needs to encourage contemplation. Although the Catholic church has produced amazing mystics and mystical teachers, direct communication with God has not been encouraged by the Church as it threatens its authority as intermediary between God and people.Catholics other than in academia have not been encouraged to read the modern mystics like Teilhard, Merton, Keating and Rahner and in some quarters they have been discouraged!Our children need to be encouraged to trust their inner experience, encouraged to pray on their own and to find their own non-intermediated relationship with God.Very young children are capable of quiet moments of awe and wonder looking at stars or butterflies and these quiet times can grow into prayer. Not talking at God but listening to that still small voice of the Divine.
Jesus the prophet became lost to the church when he became the saviour who died for our sins. Life on earth becomes less important than life in heaven when we die. Instead of following the example of Jesus and trying to bring the kingdom of heaven alive in our world, we hunkered down and concentrated on individual sin. The establishment of Christianity as the official state religion in 313 CE began the decline of the prophetic outlier church. Marcus Borg writes ‘Historically Christianity has conformed to and endorsed the dominating culture with which it co-existed starting with the Roman empire. When cultural convention accepted slavery, Christians accepted slavery. When cultural convention accepted segregation, Christians accepted segregation. The same has been true of patriarchal, heteronormative, and uncritically patriotic. One might call this the cultural captivity of the Church’. The movement that Jesus started which was to refuse to join the dominant unjust, exclusionary system is no longer the driving force in the Church but can be found in movements outside the Church. Only by setting the example and living more compassionately and justly ourselves, can our children become inspired to grow the kingdom of God in their worlds.
The youth have been leaving the Church for years and many of those ‘youth’ are now adults bringing up a new generation. Instead of trying to entice this new generation back to the
same old way of being church that sent their parents away in the first place, it is now time for radical change – a new theology,a new liturgy with language and ritual that carries the inclusive, radical love of Jesus, and a new way of being community that values compassion and justice. This is a start in helping people live more justly and compassionately as mystics, prophets and celebrators of sacramental life.
Sources:
Elizabeth Johnson, Abounding in Kindness, Orbis Books 2015
Elizabeth Johnson, Creation and the Cross, Orbis Books 2018
Alarmed by 22 mass shootings and 374 dead, including the recent horrific murders of 19 elementary age children and 2 teachers in Uvalde, Texas, and 10 black people in a grocery store in Buffalo, we urge you to take immediate action to pass strong gun safety laws.
Our Catholic Community in Sarasota is joining- with people of faith and no faith -to demand the outlaw of assault weapons, and bump stocks, the creation of strong red flag laws and effective, national and state background checks. In addition, we support more of our tax dollars spent on effective mental health programs.
No one needs military-style assault weapons that are designed to slaughter humans in minutes and render their remains recognizable sometimes only by DNA.
You can choose the protection of people over the corporate profits of the gun lobby. You can help stop this soul-numbing madness that has destroyed so many lives.
Sincerely in Christ,
Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community,
Upper Room Inclusive Catholic Community in Albany, New York Demonstration for Law to Ban Assault Weapons
Firearms nowkill more American children than car crashes, with this country’s gun sales on an unrelenting rise. The National Catholic Peace MovementPax Christi reports: “Almost half of all the civilian guns in the world are in the hands of people in the United States, who make up only four percent of the world’s population.”
The murder of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, TX has once again raised up a call for more restrictive gun laws. AGallup poll found that 52% of Americans said laws regarding the sale of firearms should be made more strict, although the numbers differed across party affiliation.
Last week, Golden State Warriors head coachSteve Kerr angrily criticized the U.S. Senate: “There’s 50 senators, right now, who refuse to vote on H.R. 8, which is a background check rule that the House passed.” He continued: “I ask you, are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children, and our elderly and our churchgoers?”
Scarlett Lewis,mother of Jesse, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shootings, has lost hope in politicians and believes Congress will not make gun laws more restrictive. The founder of the“Choose Love Movement”saidwe “have to do something ourselves.” Lewis now travels world-wide urging everyone to become part of the solution to the issues the world is facing.
In today’s gospel (John 17:20-26) we read Jesus’ final words to his followers before his arrest. Wherever he went, whatever he said, the Nazarene revealed God’s love for people and all of creation. Jesus had hoped to unite everyone around the theme of love, peace and justice.
Jesus’ message appears to be forgotten even by many who profess to be Christians. Disciples of Christ minister and veteran Army chaplain Richard Niell Donovan wrote: “A divided church loses its persuasive force.”
Unity stems from being in a relationship with God and Jesus who are united in the Spirit. It is a spirit that then drives faith communities to work for peace. In writing about God in the midst of pain, theologian Ilia Delio wrote: “When we are united to God, we become new again.” She added that “God will not clean up the mess we have made, but we are constantly invited into a new future.” 1 [1]
Civic and religious figures have important roles in encouraging people to continue to work for justice and peace. However, as civic citizens and members of diverse faith traditions we cannot stand by waiting for them to actually do something.
The Spirit that hovers among and within us is divine love. We are urged to infuse that exuberance into every aspect of our beings. By the way we choose to live — work, study, pray and play — we can create cultures built on love and compassion rather than hate.
TheBook of Revelation (22: 12-14, 16-17, 20) paints a picture of a cosmic realm stimulated and sustained by an eternal God-head — Creator Redeemer, Sanctifier. We are interdependent with this enterprise. Divinity and humanity are united. Caring for all of the fruits of our planet, human and otherwise, is our duty in this relationship.
Finding ways to plug into this measureless, infinite, ever developing, colossal, spiritual energy is a healthy, holistic way to go through life. It recharges us to unite with one another to do something good for humanity and the eco-system of which we are a part.
On the night of the Uvalde shootings, an infuriatedChris Murphy, D-Conn, pleaded with Congress to pass legislation to address gun violence. He repeatedly challenged his colleagues: “What are we doing … why are you here … if not to solve a problem as existential as this one?”
His provocation to end gun violence, to establish common sense gun laws, is a question addressed to each one of us: What are we doing?
____
1Delio, Ilia. The Hours of the Universe: Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey.” (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2021) 38
Kathryn Shea ARCWP, Lee Breyer and Mary Al Gagnon represented Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community at Rally for Gun Protection Laws on Saturday May 28 in Sarasota, Florida
“Though we need to weep your loss, You dwell in that safe place in our hearts, Where no storm or night or pain can reach you.
Your love was like the dawn Brightening over our lives Awakening beneath the dark A further adventure of color.
The sound of your voice Found for us A new music That brightened everything.
Whatever you enfolded in your gaze Quickened in the joy of its being You placed smiles like flowers On the altar of the heart. Your mind always sparkled With wonder at things.
Though your days here were brief, Your spirit was live, awake, complete.
We look towards each other no longer From the old distance of our names; Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath, As close to us as we are to ourselves.
Though we cannot see you with outward eyes, We know our soul’s gaze is upon your face, Smiling back at us from within everything To which we bring our best refinement.
Let us not look for you only in memory, Where we would grow lonely without you
You would want us to find you in presence, Beside us when beauty brightens, When kindness glows And music echoes eternal tones.
When orchids brighten the earth, Darkest winter has turned to spring; May this dark grief flower with hope In every heart that loves you. May you continue to inspire us:
To enter each day with a generous heart. To serve the call of courage and love Until we see your beautiful face again In that land where there is no more separation, Where all tears will be wiped from our mind, And where we will never lose you again.”
– John O’Donohue
Closing Prayer
May God bless you with discomfort... at easy answers, hard hearts, half-truths ,and superficial relationships. May God bless you so that you may live from deep within your heart where God's Spirit dwells.
May God bless you with anger... at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people. May God bless you so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears... to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war. May God bless you so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, in your neighborhood, so that you will courageously try what you don't think you can do, but, in Jesus Christ you'll have all the strength necessary.
May God bless you to fearlessly speak out about injustice, unjust laws, corrupt politicians, unjust and cruel treatment of prisoners, and senseless wars, genocides, starvations, and poverty that is so pervasive.
May God bless you that you remember we are all called to continue God's redemptive work of love and healing in God's place, in and through God's name, in God's Spirit, continually creating and breathing new life and grace into everything and everyone we touch.
Source: "Troubadour: A Missionary Magazine," published by the Franciscan Missionary Society, Liverpool, UK: Spring 2005.
Closing Song: Choose to Hope by Marty Haugen, Video by MT Streck
