Heartbroken and longing for deliverance
Dear Members of the Providence College Community,
Today our nation finds itself plunged once again into unspeakable grief. Recent days have forced us to confront the mystery of evil and the massacre of innocents. The terrifying murder of Black shoppers in a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket, a Southern California Taiwanese church shooting, and now the slaughter of school children and teachers in Uvalde, Texas, have us heartbroken and longing for deliverance. These tragedies leave us once more echoing the tearful words of the Psalmist crying out to God: How long, O Lord? Will you utterly forget us? How long will you hide your face from us?
In the face of these evil events, we are all desperate for some understanding of that which cannot be understood. We want answers to questions that cannot be answered. We want to do something – anything – that will bring to an end this epidemic of violent events that happen again and again. As a result, we find ourselves reeling and helpless in our suffering.
We know that there is much that divides us in our country and on our campus. But there are some things that transcend those divisions and can bring us together. We invite each member of our community to unite in one heart and one mind in praying for the dead, to ask God to console and bind the wounds of all who suffer and mourn, to lead us to eradicate the causes of these unimaginable tragedies, and to spare us from these tragedies in the future.
Our community will gather in prayer on Thursday, May 26, at 4:30 p.m., for Ascension Thursday Mass in St. Dominic Chapel, during which we will offer intentions for the victims and others affected by these recent tragedies.
Ann Manchester-Molak
Executive Vice President
Rev. James Cuddy, O.P.
Vice President for Mission and Ministry
