The neighborhood where I grew up in Baltimore has a block party every year. Last month at the annual event 900 people had an enjoyable day until around midnight when shots rang out with two people killed and more than thirty wounded. There was no police presence. At the hearings with the City Council and Police brass after the event to figure out what went wrong the mother of one of the deceased challenged the offiicals, “What is your normal?” Is your normal to have to bury your child? to fear gun violence? to be afraid to walk down your own street? To hear that question on the feast of our Lady of Sorrows here in Chicago challenges us. The only way to show true devotion to the Sorrowful Mother is to do what we can so that no mother has to bury her child. Our prayer this day should motivate us to action to make sure all children are protected, that every mother is spared the grief of loss.
