Prayer in the Face of Evil

‘P lease pray for me. I need the prayers.”

I had a quick conversation with Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Twin Cities in early August at the Knights of Columbus convention at the Reagan Hilton in Washington, D.C. He had no idea how much he would need prayers. And not primarily for himself — but for the people God has entrusted to him as a shepherd.

Weeks later, children would be murdered by a shooter during the opening Mass of their school year. At Annunciation Parish in Minneapolis. A name that reminds us of Mary’s being approached by the angel Gabriel, who gave her the news of the divine life God the Father was miraculously entrusting to her, if she would only say yes. And so she did. And so it was. As worldly power was threatened by the purity of good, Jesus Himself would become the lamb to the slaughter, showing us the power of weakness redeemed by God in His Resurrection.

Thanks be to God that we still seem to have the capacity to be shocked by the shooting of children. And yet, in narcissistic remarks made the day of the attack, the mayor of Minneapolis went after the efficacy of prayer. You would think that would have shocked a nation. “Thoughts and prayers” have, of course, been derided before. We still do not realize that prayer is, in fact, action and not mere thought. Evil boldly laughed in the faces of children and elderly parishioners who were participating in the daily Mass for the feast of Saint Monica, a mother who pleaded with God for the salvation of her son, Saint Augustine.

Shortly before I ran into Archbishop Hebda, the Knights honored former ambassador to the Holy See and longtime Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon. Her speech was a recurring theme of hers: the hour of the laity. It’s not merely priests and bishops — or nuns — who have leadership roles to play in the Catholic Church. The baptized are called to live the Gospel, to proclaim it with our lives.

Glendon, at a conference in Rome on religious persecution, many years ago, talked about the problem with Catholics in the United States. We tend to either be turtles or chameleons. We either hide in our shells — hoping not to be noticed or called upon to be who we claim to be as churchgoing, practicing Catholics — or we work to blend in with the culture around us, compromising our values if that’s what it takes to fit in. While the attack on Annunciation Church might have confirmed every turtle-like instinct in us, especially as it came a day after another shooting that killed one person outside a Catholic high school in the same city, hiding or staying quiet must be unacceptable for the Christian. The manifesto — don’t take a look if you haven’t — left behind by the killer unintentionally hints at exactly what the world needs: the healing power of the truth.

To say that Robert’s being convinced that he was Robin, a girl, was a sign of sickness rather than empowerment is not to target the trans community. But delusion helps no one. We shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that his transitioning was related to his actions, and yet — if that video he posted the morning of the attack (which I regret seeing) is any indication — his transitioning was part of a confusing mess of evil that seemed to have consumed him. Evil had a field day with him, as it does with our culture in general. Even Pope Francis, often a darling of progressives, would not submit to gender ideology and considered it akin to a nuclear war on the human person and the family, even if the media tended to ignore or underreport his views on this issue.

When asked during a news conference about the controversy around “thoughts and prayers,” Hebda was clear that — while it is not all that we must do — prayer is essential in guiding our response to evil. “I think that has to be our first line of attack, even as we figure out how it is that we move forward.”

It will take a miracle for the families of eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and ten-year-old Harper Moyski to be consoled. The only thing I can do is pray. Because only the Divine Physician can offer the healing that these families need. Memorials and therapy are important to the process of grief. But this is inconsolable pain caused by a problem that is bigger than us. Victory over evil can be had only with divine intervention. Giving belief in God the time of day — if we can take a break from yelling about the impotence or efficacy of prayer — will help give us hope.

This column is based on one available through Andrews McMeel Universal’s Newspaper Enterprise Association.