Nov 10, 2018
Welcome to Episode 9 of the Spei Lumina — Light’s of Hope podcast. Spei Lumina is written, produced, and hosted by me Fr. Donald Knight. I hope you like the imaginal prayer exercise I will be guiding you through today. Today’s episode is titled Remembrance of Those Lost in Mass Shootings from All Souls 2017 Through November 8, 2018 and originally broadcast on Friday, November 9, 2018. Since first drafting the details and prayer for this episode, two other mass shooting incidents have occurred as I went to edit and publish. I have re-recorded the episode in order to include those violent tragic mass shootings in our imaginal prayer exercise.
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Intro:
November is the month of remembrance in so many ways. In the liturgical Christian tradition it begins with All Saints Day on November 1st and continues with remembering the loved ones we lost throughout the previous year and all the years before on All Souls Day on November 2. Which is followed by November 11, when Remembrance Day — or Veterans Day — is observed in the United States the UK and most of Europe commemorating all those who gave their lives in the service of defending freedom during World War I. Not long after Remembrance day Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US, where families gather together to pause and reflect and celebrate a meal together and express gratitude for the abundant ways the Divine has blessed their lives.
In preparing for today’s podcast, I stumbled across the Gun Violence Archive website at www.gunviolence.org. A website established to provide free and accurate information about gun violence in the United States. Being that this podcast is being published roughly 10 days following the tragic mass shooting at the the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh fresh in the American psyche and not even 9 months after the tragic mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, it’s easy to experience these tragic and violent events through the media and taken separately, forget about the tragedies until the next one occurs.
I went to the the Gun Violence Archive website and was startled to learn that from Nov. 2, 2017 (All Souls Day 2017) to Nov. 2, 2018 (All Souls Day 2018) and including and up through November 8th 2018 — 377 days — there have been 350 mass shootings in the United States — one mass shooting every 1.06 days, or stated differently, 1 mass shooting every 25.44 hours. During that time frame, 384 people were killed in mass shootings across the United States. During that same time period, 1,437 people were injured during the violence wrought by these mass shootings.
For this episode, I would like to focus our imaginal prayer exercise in this month of remembrance and being close to All Souls Day on remembering those who lost their lives to gun violence in mass shootings. Remembering, so as to never forget. Remembering so as to not be swayed by the rhetoric that promotes belief that gun violence and mass shootings are rare and infrequent and shedding light on the epidemic of gun violence in our lives. Remembering to honor those who died in mass shootings and had a name. Remembering in order to pray for those who are left to pick up the pieces when their loved ones were ripped out of their lives by gun violence. Remembering so that we might be inspired to be that spark of Light, of Life that can make a difference and help illuminate the presence of hatred, bigotry, prejudice in the cosmos and respond in Love and Light.