Recently, on his podcast “Walk Humbly,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, emphasized the need for communities to remain united in prayer in the wake of the deadly attacks at Bondi Beach in Australia and Brown University in Rhode Island.
In the Dec. 15 episode reflecting on Advent and the Christmas season, episode co-host Tom Shakely, chief communications officer for the diocese, noted that it is hard to bring up such difficult news during such a sacred liturgical time. Bishop Burbidge responded, “We’re so saddened.”
“I know we all are when we learn of such violence, the taking of human life, and often rooted in just a lack of reverence for life or maybe even a lack of respect for the dignity of each human person, but to lead to such violence, horrific violence, and again, the loss of life, we’re all saddened,” the bishop said.
CatholicVote previously reported that on Dec. 14 an antisemitic terrorist attack, inspired by Islamic State ideology, at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, killed 15 people and injured dozens. Just one day earlier, a perpetrator carried out a mass shooting at Brown University, killing two students and injuring nine others.
In the podcast, Bishop Burbidge emphasized that during such dark times, people unite in prayer, spiritually supporting those who have died and the grieving families.
When united in prayer, he added, the world “begins to embrace the Gospel of life and to uphold it and to protect it in every way possible.”
Remaining united in prayer is essential, according to the bishop, “because we need the Lord.”
He reiterated the dependence on Christ and said, “We need the peace that only He can give us. And so I do ask all throughout our diocese, learning of this tragic news, to unite in prayer with the people of goodwill, and knowing that in the Lord, we find that peace for which we long.”
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