Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge was the celebrant and
homilist at the 12:05 p.m. Mass Oct. 2 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More
during which he prayed for the victims of the shooting in Las Vegas.
Law enforcement officials are reporting that 58 people were
killed and more than 500 wounded by a lone gunman who was perched high on the
32nd floor of a hotel from where he unleashed a shower of bullets on a nearby
outdoor country music festival. The crowd at the event numbered more than
22,000.
It is being called the largest mass shooting in modern U.S.
history.
Among those participating in the Oct. 2 liturgy with Bishop
Burbidge were the students and faculty of the Cathedral School of St. Thomas
More in Arlington.
“Once again we are forced to deal with and to acknowledge the
reality of evil in our midst as we learn of the horrific shooting that killed and
injured so many people,” Bishop Burbidge said in his homily.
We can never fully understand or explain the mystery of evil as it
is perpetuated in the free will decision of others through psychological or
emotional duress, he said.
“Certainly we find consolation at every Mass that Our Lord Jesus
took on all parts of suffering in an evil world and through His own suffering,
death and resurrection proved victorious, and all of us, as we unite ourselves
with Him, are given a share both now and forever,” Bishop Burbidge said.
“The only way that evil can temporarily win is if people of faith
and good will despair or deceive themselves into thinking that there is nothing
they can do about it,” Bishop Burbidge said. “We do not believe that.
“Instead, on this day of mourning in our nation, we come to this
sacred place to pray, to profess our faith in Christ’s triumph,” he said. “To unite
together as brothers and sisters and to renew our promise that we can be instruments
of peace and goodness through the works that need to be performed wherever God
sends us — in our schools, in our homes, workplaces and communities.
“That’s what our world and nation really need today — people to
pray, people to renew their promise to be instruments of peace,” he said.
“How providential that we celebrate today the feast of the Guardian
Angels, God’s way of assuring us that He
is always in our midst, especially in the turmoil and chaos of our earthly
lives, assuring us that He, His angels and saints are there to guard us,
protect us, guide us as we continue this earthly journey to a life with God
forever in heaven,” Bishop Burbidge said.
“Through the intercession of Mary under the title of the
Immaculate Conception, the patroness of our nation, we commend all who died
last night in that shooting to God’s mercy and love,” Bishop Burbidge said. “We
ask the Lord to bless all who were injured with His healing love, to grant
strength and consolation to their families, and to bring an end to all violence
in our world and nation so that we can live together in unity as members of God’s
holy family and together profess victory that is ours in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
Amen.”
In an earlier Twitter post, Bishop Burbidge wrote, “We
are united in prayer for those killed and injured last night by the horrific
shooting in Las Vegas. May God embrace them in His love.”
Flach can be reached at [email protected].
