Prayers and solidarity

I know you already are joining me in prayer and grief for the shootings at the Islamic Center of San Diego yesterday. This was a horrific crime and a deeply tragic situation, with three heroic victims and two terribly lost young men dead. It is a new image of both deep evil and deep good that we are seeing splashed across our news feeds today.

As people of faith, we are and should be in solidarity with all our sisters and brothers of faith. Just last week we had a security assessment at St Francis, reminding us of the capriciousness of deadly violence in our world today. This is not the first time the Islamic Center and its school was threatened, and with rising anti-Islamic sentiment, these events can feel like just one more terrible story in a string of such events.  

Our Bishop invites us to an interfaith vigil taking place for the Islamic Center tonight. If you are able, please join the gathering at 6:30 pm at Lindbergh Park (4141 Ashford St, San Diego). If you cannot make the trip, please pray where you are, and join in with others to do so. This is a time for courageous love and hope.