Reflection

I was tempted to title this post the much-used "Tragedy in Tucson," but I decided against it. After all, tragedy should be a time of reflection and reprioritization. Tragedy it was, but so many people deal with difficulties of life day in and day out. It has, however, been good for the Tucson community to come together and to remember that life is precious, no matter whose it is.

The shooting occurred about 30 minutes away from us, in a very nice part of town. However, Gabrielle Giffords' office is about a 5-minute walk from our house. It's been neat to see all the remembrances of the victims: candles, balloons, flowers, signs, and prayers abound. It's sobering, and when I've walked over there, it's a good opportunity to pray for not only those still struggling to live, but for family members and for Tucson as a whole. While I'm thankful that so many lived, rehab is not a joke: it's an expensive, time-consuming, exhausting prospect. I pray that those who will have to deal with medical issues for the rest of their lives will have the psychological and spiritual strength to bear up under them.

Abby, Emily and I had the opportunity to go to the "Together We Thrive" event at the U of A, featuring President Obama. If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading his speech. All the words spoken that day were thoughtful and appropriate, which was unusual coming from a bunch of politicians. :) Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder, for instance, spoke using only Scripture, with none of their own words. Praise God!

While we didn't make it in to the arena with the President, being in the stadium was also very meaningful. All together, about 27,000 people attended the event. The lines were long, but it was worth it.

The following day, Taylor and I attended the visitation for Justice John Roll. Our friend Mike, an attorney, clerked for him at the Superior Court, and he is keenly grieving the loss of such a good man. I have never attended a visitation in which you had to go through metal detectors, be inspected by US Marshals, and be watched by various levels of law enforcement.

I had never been to a Catholic rosary service; it was quite an experience. The Knights of Columbus presided, complete with colored, feathered hats and capes. I have no idea why. :) The rosary consisted of 5 "mysteries" (Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption of Mary, and Coronation of Blessed Virgin Mary), with 10 Hail Marys said after each mystery. Now, lest you think this was quick, it took quite a long time to say this 50 times: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.^"

Why did we have to say this 50 times?? (Not that Taylor and I said it - we didn't know it!) And the Lord's Prayer at least 5 times? As Mike said after the service, "Hail Luther!! Thank God for him!" Do they really think it requires 50 recitations for their prayer to be heard? And what is all this Mary stuff anyway? I've been to several Catholic masses on various occasions, but none that deified Mary in quite this way.