There are many questions circulating about the tragic shooting in Minneapolis at Annunciation Catholic Elementary School during its opening Mass on August 27. How did this happen? What more could have been done to prevent the tragedy? What can we do to help those lost and those grieving? What can we do to prevent this from happening again elsewhere? Hopefully, these questions will be answered in the weeks and months ahead. One question we can begin to answer today, however, is, will the students go back to school and church again?
Horrendous experiences like that school shooting can lead to traumatic memories. Places in which we once felt safe, like a church or a school, can now be places where we constantly look over our shoulders. Some may even find it difficult to step through the door again. In 1915, a devastating fire at St. John’s Schol in Peabody, Massachusetts, resulted in the deaths of 21 girls, ages six to 17. They were unable to escape as smoke thickened and students from the upper floors panicked. Survivors and witnesses recounted scenes of terror. In the aftermath of the fire, many did not want to remember the disaster. News photographers even had their cameras and photographs confiscated by law enforcement. It would not be until 2005 that a memorial statue depicting Christ comforting two children was finally erected. It can take decades to face the memories of a tragedy.
While the members of St. John’s community found it difficult to remember the past, they looked forward to the future. Just one year later, in 1916, they erected a new St. John’s School building on the same site. Today, the school continues to thrive and provide its students with an education in the faith and the sciences. You can find stories of resilience overcoming tragedy throughout the world.
Likewise, on Good Friday, all hope seemed lost for the followers of Christ who witnessed his brutal death on the cross. In the face of such tragedy and sorrow what could they do? There seemed to be only one answer. After his death many of his disciples fled or went back to their former ways of life. The Resurrection of Christ at Easter, however, showed His disciples and us, another possibility: keep doing what you were meant to do. For the disciples, that meant spreading the faith throughout the world regardless of the risks that lay ahead. For the students, teachers, and faculty of Annunciation Catholic School, that means returning to prayer and studies. Today, what was once the site of terror and defeat, Mount Calvary, is now one of the most visited sites in our faith in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The same can be true for Annunciation school. The Resurrection reminds us that evil does not get the last word.
In the weeks and months ahead, Masses will be said for the deceased and their families, those who mourn and suffer will be comforted, and protocols put in place to prevent this from happening again. Memories of the tragedy will be difficult to face. Yet, we will not let evil win. Christ has given us the answer: the mission to educate our young and increase their faith continues.
