‘I just want Christmas.” Those words, from a frightened 6-year-old child huddling with classmates and a teacher in a locked bathroom, spoke for millions of people confronting their worst fears about mankind in the wake of the massacre at Newtown, Conn. But then, amid an inexpressible grief, thousands of Americans set out in the spirit of the season to salve the wounds of the children of Newtown, and of the nation.
From the president on down, from neighbors to clergy to members of the media, people came together to send a different message — that this is one nation, whose spirits are united in times of distress. The tone was largely the same from Democrats and Republicans, from Fox News and MSNBC, from Christians and Jews and Muslims. Expressions of support came from unions, corporations, and wealthy philanthropists. Even the unyielding National Rifle Association struck a conciliatory tone, declaring itself to be an organization of “4 million moms and dads, sons and daughters,” who “were shocked, saddened, and heartbroken.” (Soon enough, though, the organization renewed its hard-line advocacy for guns.)
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For those inclined to pray, it is a good time to pray for the comfort of those who have suffered so much. Pacis erit vobiscum.