Consecrated women from a religious community in Connecticut are offering
prayers, counseling and support to high school students following a
mass shooting in their town.
“Only God can give them the hope that they need to heal,” said
Florencia Silva, director of youth ministry for the Diocese of
Bridgeport, Conn.
Silva told CNA that she was one of three consecrated lay women from the
Marian Community of Reconciliation who was asked to attend a Dec. 17
youth group meeting at St. Rose of Lima parish in Newtown, Conn., along
with clergy, other consecrated laity and counselors.
The meeting was intended to help the members of the close-knit community reeling from a tragic shooting in their small town.
On the morning of Dec. 14, a gunman identified as 20-year-old Adam
Lanza opened fire on students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary
School after killing his mother at her house.
The gunman killed 20 children and six adults at the school before taking his own life.
St. Rose of Lima parish, which includes some 2000 families, regularly
sees between 60 and 100 young people – largely high school students –
show up for youth group meetings.
Silva said that she and her religious sisters intend to support the
teenagers by praying with them and for them, as well as being present
and available if they would like to talk.
She explained that members of the religious community have already
visited diocesan high schools in the region, organizing a Mass and
making themselves available to listen to the students as they process
the experience.
The students reacted positively, saying that the Mass helped them to
heal, she said, adding that many of them are also experiencing deep
feelings of grief and fear.
“Those are normal reactions,” she said. “I think we are all very sad.”
Silva said she hopes to help the students through these struggles while
aiding them in realizing that God is always present, even in the midst
of tragedy.
She pointed to one child who recalled seeing God’s presence in the
loving and heroic actions of a teacher protecting a class full of
students during the shooting.
“God is always there,” she said.
Emphasizing that prayers are real and efficacious, Silva is asking
people to pray for those who died in the shooting, including Lanza.
While she acknowledged that forgiveness is not always easy, she
stressed that it is a choice, made out of love, even when one is still
struggling with strong emotions.
“It’s going to take time for the people to heal, for all of us to heal,” she said.
Julie Rogers, another member of the Marian Community of Reconciliation,
said that she hopes to show the grieving teenagers at the youth group
that “they’re not alone.”
Newtown is a “tight-knit community,” she observed, and its members need
to see that they are being supported with love and prayers.
“First and foremost, they need to know that God is with them,” she
said. “He is not a distant God. He is present in their sufferings.”
The Blessed Virgin Mary is also present and “knows what it is like to lose a child,” she explained.
In addition, Rogers hopes to remind those who are suffering from the
tragedy that the Christian response is “a response of hope” because it
is centered on the Resurrection.
The Christian message is one of forgiveness, not vengeance, she added, and so they are praying for Lanza as well.
During this time of grief, it is important to recognize that human
beings alone cannot make sense out of this tragic situation, Rogers
stressed.
“This is a time to turn to God,” she said.