by Carlos Aedo

"Here it will be to ask for sorrow, compassion, and shame because the Lord is going to His suffering for my sins."

– Spiritual Exercises, 193

I read the news last night about children and teachers who were murdered in their school.

I saw my teenage daughter crying on the couch, next to my wife, who is a school teacher. I feel so deeply sad and angry — sad for the lives lost and the parents whose grief is terrifying, and angry that millions of kids went to school afraid this morning.

What happened in Ulvade is not senseless. This is exactly who we are as a society, plagued by gun violence, hate, racism, the images of grieving parents, and platitudes from our leaders.

In the third week of the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius invites us “to ask for sorrow, compassion, and shame, because the Lord is going to His suffering for my sins.”

Today, I am asking God to allow my sorrow, compassion, and shame to change me, because what happened in Uvalde will happen again if we do not allow ourselves, as members of this society, to be radically changed. This is who we are today. By the grace of God, may we be different tomorrow.

Pray with us today.

If you need somewhere to begin, I recommend a prayer by Fr. James Martin, SJ, called “Sad, Tired and Angry” and another by the Sisters of Mercy called “Let the Shooting End.”

Tomorrow, let us turn our grief and anger into action.

May our Lady of the Way, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, comfort the parents of Uvalde in their grief, and may she ask her son to welcome those killed into His warm embrace.

Carlos Aedo is the executive director of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality.