Good Thursday, everyone! Do hope and pray that we're doing well in anticipation for the celebration of Christmas. (My prayers and thoughts are with the families and friends of all the victims of the Connecticut school shooting on 14 December 2012. May the souls of the innocent victims of the school massacre, through the mercy of God, our Heavenly/Almighty Father, rest in peace. Amen.)
Before I go further, I thank you, people of goodwill from different parts of the world, i.e., Russia, Latvia, Germany, Philippines, Italy, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Pakistan, etc. for visiting/reading my blog. I invite you to pray with me for a peaceful, safer world. Happy Holidays to all of us!
I know and am aware that most, if not all, of us have been so touched and heart-broken, so affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting-massacre in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, 14December2012. Personally, as a parent of two young adults, I feel for those parents whose loved ones are gone and won't be able to celebrate all the holidays on Earth. (As I'm writing this blog post, I've been visualizing the photos of those innocent, lovely children, and the adults, too, whose lives were taken away instantly by whatever type of guns or assault weapons used in the shooting spree.) And one thing that's so sad is that it happened just days or a week before Christmas, a day supposed to be a joyous celebration, with our families, folks, friends, and our small children especially, anticipating gifts from Santa, to commemorate once again of the birth of Baby Jesus who is and will be forever our Lord and Savior and Redeemer! I could hardly imagine what the parents of the victims are going through these days, from the time they've reared their children to the time they bury them? I can't fathom the depth and breath of this sad reality. God, please help me to understand and please help these mourning parents/families! Why, why, why, on Earth do we have violence and not peace and order all the time? Why God do you allow evil acts to occur? Why?Why we have sufferings and sacrifices?
These past days, I have been contemplating on a number of issues including gun (violence, rights, control, legislation), mental health, school safety/security, family stability/solidarity, which I'd like to tackle at in my future blog posts, as I continue to update myself on what's going on in our world by listening to Morning Edition on NPR (National Public Radio) News daily and watching TV news broadcast frequently. Frankly speaking, for the past days, my thoughts have been centered on the Connecticut school shooting on 14 December 2012 that claimed the lives of twenty 6- and 7-year old innocent school children and six adults and the mother of and the reported shooter/killer 20 year-old Adam Lanza. I can't seem to process what went wrong that the deadly school rampage happened and why? What may have contributed to this unexpected tragedy?
Recall the Colorado theater shooting, Columbine and Virgina Tech and other shootings and public massacres involving guns and other high- powered ammunition-weapons. Now, this is my take on some of the issues I mentioned above. (I'm sure, there are already debates going on elsewhere, even in blogosphere and in other social media outlets about gun violence/rights/control/legislation, etc.) Let's look at ourselves and examine the kind of family we have and what we envisioned to have. Lots of stuff to consider here: If we are accountable and responsible for our own action/s, we dare should have paid attention to our lifestyle and planned ahead as to what family we should have, i.e., number of children. What kind of children are we bringing in to this world? What are we all doing to contribute to our children's future, to a better life-world? To help solve problems of our families, community/society, world? Are we giving our kids the best education they can possible have and that we can afford to give? How's our parental involvement in the rearing and upbringing of our children? How good are we parents? What changes, if any, do we have to adapt or consider if we aspire to be good parents and role models to our children? What are our rights and responsibilities, parents and children alike? What are our responsibilities towards others, too? As a family, do we have Faith? Do we have a belief in One Supreme Being, God, Allah, or other name? Does Jesus matter to us, to our lives? Do we practice our Faith? Does prayer matter to us? If so, do we pray everyday, always? If you don't have a belief, say you're an atheist, what kind of life do you want to have and why?
As a peace-loving, law-abiding citizen of the world, I am not in favor of having a gun at home. But I do believe that we have the right to bear arms to (privately) protect ourselves. I do believe, too, that there should be a limit, a control or a ban as to what type of gun we should own to protect ourselves. Assault weapons used by the military should not be in the possessions of private citizens. And prospective gun-owners should be screened or have a thorough background check to include mental evaluations before they can purchase a gun. If we have identified kids who may be in trouble at home or in school, we should constantly monitor and/or refer them to proper specialists or authorities for further help and treatment. We should be cognizant, vigilant, tolerant, respectful, and understanding of others who are unique and/or/but different from us.
I don't like violence, per se. I want peace and order in our world. I wish for joy and contentment in life for all of us, and I believe in the sharing of everything (material, spiritual) for the good of everyone here on Earth. Thank God that I have this freedom to voice out or express, and share my thoughts and ideas to/for others.
Finding comfort and joy in Jesus is what matters to me for others these days. Comfort and strength and joy for those families of the deceased and those affected, those volunteers, and men (and women) of the Faith, like Rev. Fr. Luke Suarez and Monsignor Weiss of St. Rose Lima parish in Newton, Connecticut (who all need our prayers and words of encouragement). Yes, we're in the midst of finding comfort and joy in the Baby Jesus to be born again in/for US this Christmas. I do believe it is also the wish for others and the rest of the world, too, who are longing for peace on Earth and goodwill to all men and women. Let us pray for peace in our hearts and peace for the world as we continue to prepare ourselves for the birth of the Son of God who will dwell among us and inspire us to live a righteous life. As they say, Jesus Christ is the reason for the (Christmas) season. Hence, let us keep CHRIST this CHRISTMAS and ALWAYS! Vivat Jesus!
Well, my dear folks and friends, let's continue to pray for the victims and the families of the Connecticut school shooting. Let's pray for world peace and an end to deadly (gun) violence. Mother Mary, intercede and pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
This is all for now. Until next time around, my dear folks and friends. Take care and have a safe Thursday, everyone! As always, I pray, "May God bless us all!"-chris a. quilpa, 20Dec2012
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