One friend, the father of four children, confessed that when he heard about the shootings at the elementary school in Newtown, Conn., he suddenly broke down crying.
Another friend, a mother of two young boys, posted on Facebook, “I’m ill.” As I read other posts by distraught parents, I pictured them hugging little ones more tightly that day, and putting out more cookies for after-school snacks.
As for me, I didn’t cry until hours later when I remembered a saying that spoke to my grief: “If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, and I’ll stay there forever.”
At Mass each Sunday, the priest calls the little children from the pews so they can go for a catechism lesson while adults hear the homily.
Recently, I noticed one fellow wearing dapper khaki slacks and a very grown-up looking tie with a Christmas pattern. Nearby, two tiny girls held hands and whispered secrets.
And as the group proceeded down the aisle, I sensed what the adults were thinking: How could anyone harm a child?
Jesus did not talk specifically about physically harming children, but he had harsh words for anyone who led a child into sin. That person, he said, deserved to have a millstone tied to his neck and be cast into the sea.
It has now been three weeks since the Newtown massacre, but for the parents, I’m sure the agony is still fresh and unbearable. And like so many others, I pray that such a tragedy will never be repeated.
But I’m also well aware that terrible violence has stalked mankind ever since Cain killed Abel, probably with a rock. No matter how hard we try to protect our children, no one can stamp out the unavoidable fact of human evil in the world.
Even after Jesus’ birth — a time we associate with angels and carols and a star in the East — a horrendous tragedy ensued when King Herod sent his soldiers on a bloody rampage to slay baby boys under the age of 2.
Many Christians commemorate these younglings — known as the Holy Innocents — a few days after Christmas.
And a heart-rending quote from the Old Testament speaks poignantly about the grief these parents endured over the death of their children: “In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping! Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more.”
Violence against children in Christ’s day was senseless and unspeakably cruel, and remains so today.
And it is truly impossible to imagine the utter heartbreak of parents who lost children in the Newtown massacre. But my prayer for the new year is this: May all the holy innocents remain forever in the hearts of the people who loved them.
And may they live eternally in the arms of God, where they are, finally and forever, safe from all harm.
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