Lament for those Massacred at Mass Today

God,

Lover of all,

This morning,

under an image

of your crucified Son,

children and teachers

attending a back-to-school mass

were barricaded in their church home

and slaughtered.

I join the prophets of old

and ask…

How long, O Lord? I cry for help

but you do not listen? Hb 1:2

The holy sacrifice

of the Mass

is supposed to be

a saving act…

an act of worship,

thanksgiving,

uniting us with Christ

and each other

in the mystery of salvation.

Today

it became

a reenactment of the

massacre of the Holy Innocents

in Bethlehem after

the birth of your Son.

In utter terror is my soul –

and you, Lord, how long…? Ps 6:3

How long before we

no longer raise

nihilistic,

empty,

angry,

young men

who want to make

their mark in this world

as they end their own?

You cut short the days of his youth,

Covered him with shame.

How long, Lord?

Will you stay hidden forever? Ps 89:45

Is this really whyJesus was crucified?

To show us how truly

inhumane we humans can be?

Lord, how long will you look on?

Save me from roaring beasts,

my previous life from lions! Ps 35:17

At the height of his public execution,

Jesus prayed for his persecutors.

“Father, forgive them,

for they know not what they do.” Lk 23:34

It appears that

none of us

know what we do.

How long, O Lord? I asked. Ps 79:5