Las Vegas and St. Therese

 Something horrific happened last night. As many of us were peacefully going through our bedtime routines, one person made a choice that means the routines of hundreds of other people are aborted. Our hearts are broken as we reach out in prayer and helplessness for the dead, the grieving, the suffering, those supporting them, and all those who now feel unsafe.But we also rejoice with those who are rejoicing that they survived, that they escaped, that they saw the true good in people sheltering others, helping others, even some of them who now know there is a God and He is not remote, but He is personal. His ways are not our ways, and so we grope for understanding that we may never achieve.As we look in sorrow at the tragedy that is now the most devastating shooting in the history of the United States, I can't help but consider that this happened on the day we celebrate St. Therese Lisieux, the saint of the "Little Way." Little Therese is the champion of those who do not feel like champs, the one who reminded us that goodness is found and expressed in the little, hidden things that few people may notice. Like helping strangers at a concert, like speaking the good in a bad situation, like keeping our eyes on God's view of things when we want to look at our own discomfort.Our individual choices, choices we make in each moment and choices we plan over time, can affect many people for a long time to come. One person can change much, for good or for evil. This one man who seems to have made a choice and planned to do "something big" in the form of a terrible massacre of people is not the champion. The champions, the victors in this tragedy are those who chose to hold out their hand to help someone they didn't even know, those who are even now holding the hands of the survivors, helping the wounded back to wholeness. We know the name of the shooter.The names of those good people in a terrible situation may never make the headlines, but in the Real Story, they are the headliners.Let's continue to pray for everyone affected by this tragedy, and for the healing of our nation and our world.