I've read, wept and prayed over the tragedy in Aurora. I've shed tears and pray each time I hear news of violence. Yesterday, the news struck closer to home, just outside the Empire State Building in New York. While I no longer live in New York and work in Manhattan, it is where my roots are.
There are many who will use this and other recent shootings as a platform for gun control. New York has the strictest gun-control laws, yet several people were shot on the street during rush hour yesterday. It has happened before in New York. I remember stepping off the commuter train at Grand Central Station and someone in the crowded mass of humanity was shot 20 feet from me, in the middle of morning rush hour.
And I still clearly remember the 5:35.
On December 7, 1993, there was a mass-shooting on the 5:35 pm train from Penn Station to Long Island. This was my regular commuter train home each night. I will not share the grizzly details of what I witnessed; the basic information is at the link.
But I know this: Guns do not kill people; people kill people. If you take away guns, there will be knives. If you take away knives, there will be box cutters and scissors. If you take away all blades... a broken glass bottle will do. I hope you see the pattern.
We fixate on the tool and never get to the root cause.
What is broken is people, and society. It is how people treat people. It is how the media fixates on horrific crimes rather than angelic acts of good will. This way, some see the horrific acts as the only way to send a message. It is often a last desperate attempt.
Is there an easy answer to fix this so there will be no more crazed killings when people are pushed too far and snap? There is no easy answer; but there is always how we treat one another and our prayers.
Following the Aurora shootings, Angelic Insights shared a beautiful post titled: Tragedy, Angels and Prayer. I encourage you to read this post, if you feel inclined, but I will share a potent part with my readers below, the prayer:
Beloved Creator,
I don’t understand. How could anyone cause so much harm?
I’ve been angry, I’ve been sad, I’ve been confused…
But I hope I would never be in that place to hate and kill so many.
Please God, help me see that it’s all a matter of degree—
Heal me, dear Lord, of all my anger, frustration, judgment,
Whatever within me is a faint echo of what would motivate a madman
To kill and injure and maim and create terror.
Heal me, dear Lord so that I can bring peace within ME to be more peace on earth,
And help me to be a healing presence to others as I heal myself.
Please send angels to comfort and heal all those in the world who are affected
In some way by what has happened,
Please send angels to help heal those who are on their way to being capable
Of such acts, so that more acts like this are averted.
I don’t claim to understand why…but I ask that you cleanse and purify and heal me…
Heal everyone who allows it—and heal our world…. Please.
Through all that is sacred and holy and within you, I give thanks. Amen.
I don’t understand. How could anyone cause so much harm?
I’ve been angry, I’ve been sad, I’ve been confused…
But I hope I would never be in that place to hate and kill so many.
Please God, help me see that it’s all a matter of degree—
Heal me, dear Lord, of all my anger, frustration, judgment,
Whatever within me is a faint echo of what would motivate a madman
To kill and injure and maim and create terror.
Heal me, dear Lord so that I can bring peace within ME to be more peace on earth,
And help me to be a healing presence to others as I heal myself.
Please send angels to comfort and heal all those in the world who are affected
In some way by what has happened,
Please send angels to help heal those who are on their way to being capable
Of such acts, so that more acts like this are averted.
I don’t claim to understand why…but I ask that you cleanse and purify and heal me…
Heal everyone who allows it—and heal our world…. Please.
Through all that is sacred and holy and within you, I give thanks. Amen.
~ ESA
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That's a really good point. The world's estrangement from God is the problem, but since the world is blind to Him, most people only see what they know and what they are used to, chaos and confusion. But let's keep praying that that chaos and confusion lessens, while there's still time.
ReplyDeleteThe world is estranged from God and we are estranged from each other. The more we fear or hate our neighbor, the less we Love them.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly, let us keep praying. God is still with us. When we are still and listen, God will show us the Way. :D
dear ESA, very good thoughts, thank you for posting them
ReplyDeleteLet me ask you for little clarification. What is the relevance of 'Evening star aglow'?
Thank you
Prasad
prasadkalaparthy@gmail.com
Hello Prasad,
ReplyDeleteWhile I had a few reasons for the title when I started the blog, at this point all I can say is: "It feels right." I really hold no other reason beyond that now.
At the start, while I trying to figure out some things spiritually, someone used the term "evening star" to describe me. Yeshua / Jesus the Christ is sometimes referred to as the "bright morning star." While astrologically the two are actually the same - the planet Venus, it had caught my mind for a while, making me wonder if I could shine in this world.
"Evening" also refers to the end of a period of time, whether that is a 24-hour cycle or something larger. I still wonder if we live within the "End Times", not the end of the world, per se, but the end of a period of time, when things change... When I started the blog, I had hoped to be a bright light in the darkness of the end times. And, over the years, I've learned to trim down that ego of mine to a manageable size.
Around the same time, from somewhere inside my being, I found another self-description: "I am the light that is first seen on the underside of eastern clouds before sunrise, when there are still bright stars in the sky... there is a much greater Light to come than I." When? I don't know. But I do understand that when humanity goes through tribulations, such as we've been seeing over the past years, there is more than just suffering. There is opportunity, a chance to learn and grow, to reach out to each other, help one another, to transcend all these lines we use to divide us one from another.
I have also become aware that whatever brightness one finds on this blog or in my tweets (@JesusSister) is only there when I hold up a mirror. In a time when many "prophets" focus more on "profits", I freely share stories, poetry, blessings and bits of bright wisdom when the Spirit within inspires me. I've learned to do so differently... ends up worse than a pile of horse droppings. :P So when something shines bright... it's not from my own light.
As I state on both my blog and Twitter profile: I am who and what God made me to be. That's all. :)
I hope that answers your question.
~ ESA