In the wake of the Aug. 27 shooting at Annunciation church in Minneapolis, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said he thinks it’s providential that the late Pope Francis asked Catholics to be pilgrims of hope this jubilee year.
For an episode of “Practicing Catholic” set to air at 9 p.m. Aug. 29 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, Archbishop Hebda told co-hosts Leah Heselton and Father Tom Margevicius that one of the things “Christians, we as Catholics, are able to bring to these tragic situations is that sense of hope that comes not from our own gifts, but from Jesus himself and from his closeness to us, even in in times of great tragedy.”
Our task now is to connect people “with the hope that’s within us as Christians,” the archbishop said.
Since the shooting that killed two children and wounded 18 others, Archbishop Hebda said he has spoken to families who were directly affected by the attack. He expressed to them that “we have a God who knows our suffering and who desires to be with us, to walk with us.”
Referring to the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke, the archbishop said Jesus took human flesh so that he could relate to our experiences.
Archbishop Hebda addressed a question that has circulated since the shooting: If children were praying, why were they harmed? He pointed to the façade of Annunciation church which says in capital letters, “This is the house of God and the gate of heaven.”
“Even though the burden has to be so great right now for those families who are involved, or the students who lost loved ones or who witnessed things that they never would have imagined witnessing, nonetheless we have to believe that that gate to heaven is still open, and that’s where the Lord wants to lead us in, in spite of the fact that there’s evil in the world and that people do things that are unforeseen and unimaginable,” Archbishop Hebda said. “The Lord still loves us and is leading us always to heaven.”
The archbishop reminded listeners that Jesus’ life was not free from pain. In fact, it was quite the opposite, he said.
“Yet there’s that concept that he teaches us about redemptive suffering and that what’s important is being faithful and trusting that we have a God who loves us and then allowing that to also motivate us then to go forth and to love our neighbors. That’s what Jesus tells us are the two great commandments, and certainly at a time like this I’ve already been hearing beautiful stories about heroism. I’ve been hearing beautiful stories about passion. In the midst of a very troubling situation there’s also wonderful evidence of love. And I think that that love is sourced in God. And so that’s what gives us the hope.”
To hear more from Archbishop Hebda about the shooting on Aug. 27, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Aug. 30 and 2 p.m. Aug. 31.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, “Practicing Catholic” can be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
