St. Maria Goretti, Jared Loughner, and Judge John Roll

All day I've been thinking about St. Maria Goretti. If you don't know her story I'll recap it briefly here. Maria was born in 1890, the third child in a family of poor Italian peasants. Maria's parents lost their farm and were forced to move and work for other farmers. When Maria was nine her father died of malaria and her mother had to work in the fields with her brothers. Maria was a pius little girl. On her first Communion day in 1901, Maria's special request of God was to allow her to receive Communion again soon. This was in the days before Pope Pius X encouraged the practice of frequent, even daily Communion.

Maria's family was so poor, to help make ends meet, they shared their house with a father and son, Giovanni and Alessandro Serenelli, a teenager. One day when she was alone in the house tending her baby sister, Alessandro, who had sexually harrassed Maria numerous times approached her and demanded she have relations with him. When Maria refused, saying, "No, Alessandro, it is a sin," he stabbed her numerous times. She was eleven years old. Maria died the next day after unspeakable suffering but not before she forgave Alessandro for his cruel actions.

For three years Alessandro was unrepentant in jail, but he began to have a change of heart after a local bishop visited him. He also dreamed of Maria who brought him lilies which burned up in his hands. Alessandro repented and when he was released from jail went to Maria's mother and begged her forgiveness which she freely gave. They both attended Maria's canonization in 1950. Alessandro prayed every day to Maria and called her "my little saint." She is one of the youngest saints of the Church.

So what does Maria Goretti have to do with Jared Loughner and the murder of Judge John Roll? As Fr. John Hardon often said, there are no coincedences, nothing "just happens." Judge Roll, a daily Communicant and devout Catholic, was present at that event for a reason. Is he to be the catalyst for the conversion of a murderer? When Alessandro went to Assunta, Maria's mother, shortly after his release from prison and asked for forgiveness she replied that if Maria could forgive him on her deathbed, she could do no less. Did Judge Roll have a chance to think about what was happening before he died? Did he see his assailant? We will never know, but we do know that he went to Communion shortly before those fateful moments at the shopping center. Jesus was present and crucified again in the suffering and death of His faithful servant. I'm asking the intercession of John Roll for the conversion of his murderer. Imagine the power of him praying for his killer. May his ultimate sacrifice become the hope of salvation for a poor lost soul in the service of Satan.

Arizona Shooter Story Gets Crazier All the Time

The latest bizarre element of the Arizona shooting story is this: Jared Loughner had a tent shrine in the back that held elements used in occult worship. (See here.) As more evidence comes out, I'm more convinced than ever that the guy is insane, even possessed. In his mug shot (on left) he looks possessed. Look at the eyes...and the smile. This is a guy who just killed and wounded a lot of people and he's thrilled. Is he reflecting the image of Satan?

Comedians used to say "the devil made him do it." Now the radical left says, "conservatives made him do it." I suppose that's not surprising. To them, the right and the devil (if they believed in him) are the same thing.

Pray for all the victims, but also for Jared Loughner and his family. This family apparently has been dealing with Jared's mental illness for a long time, coping in isolation. (See here.) It is a human tragedy for everyone involved. But no one is irredeemable. Let's pray this story has a good ending. I urge readers to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the deceased victims and for Loughner. The only final disaster is eternal damnation. Please pray for him and his parents. Can you imagine the suffering of knowing that your son committed this terrible act?

Liberal Bloggers Already Blaming Conservatives for Shooting in Arizona

A mass murderer in Arizona killed at least five and wounded a number of others this morning at a political event organized by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords was shot in the head, but is expected to recover. A federal judge, John Roll, was among the dead. (See here.)

The smoke hadn't cleared at the scene before liberals blamed Sarah Palin and the tea party for the shooting. The mass murder is a tragedy, but isn't it prudent to get the facts before gathering the lynch mob? If one disagrees with liberalism he is automatically accused of inciting murder and is lynched in the liberal press (or on the liberal blogs). And the Huffington Post isn't exactly a model of restraint when it comes to rhetoric!

The man arrested at the scene, Jared Loughner, has a strange video on the internet that makes him sound mentally ill. Most of these mass murderers are just that -- crazy (or Muslim fanatics)! And yet the liberal M.O. is to immediately accuse those who disagree with them of being partners and instigators of the crime. The hypocrisy of the left is astounding. No one on the left dissented when the Department of Homeland Security labled peaceful pro-lifers "domestic terrorists." They just nodded in agreement despite the fact that the pro-life movement is the most peaceful social movement in history. On the other hand, when Ronald Reagan was shot, the right didn't immediately accuse the left of fomenting the attack.

Liberals need to take a deep breath and let the police do their job. Unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen because designating your opponent as a "hatemonger" and  "enemy" is an acceptable staple of liberalism. The homosexual movement calls the strategy "jamming." The jamming against Sarah Palin and the tea party has begun. It illustrates the left's aphorism that "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste."

A better approach to a tragedy like this is to immediately pray for the dead, asking God's mercy on them and for the survivors and all the families affected. Blaming those who had nothing to do with the event is the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a fire. It's unjust and pointless.