Let what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas

Tragedy is always a challenge, whether you are a believer or not. The believer's profession that there is a "good God" (a God of Love, even) appears, on the surface, to be contradicted by SOME of the facts of time.  As we reflect on this tragedy we should bear in mind that we do not have all the facts and that, as finite beings, we do not see the 'beginning from the end'. The Father took an enormous gamble in endowing us (us= unwise, selfish, immature, shortsighted, damaged, and broken individuals) with free will but, in his infinite wisdom this obviously seemed like a good idea. He must have figured that he could make right whatever we do wrong, fix whatever we could break - make it "better than new" even, and was willing to suffer the mishaps of time and imperfection because there was something of inestimable value to be gained by allowing us to make mistakes - even terribly tragic mistakes. This is a SHARED universe and not everything that is done is God's fault, we must shoulder some of the responsibility for the tragedies that befall us. We cannot, or at least should not, use examples of tragedy to deny God's love or the efficacy of His divine will. Moreover, why should we allow the small, dark and bloody errors of the children of time to obscure the more abundant glory and goodness of God? He gave us OPPORTUNITY but how we use this is our responsibility. It's certainly not His fault if one of our brethren chooses the ways of darkness. However, in the midst of the darkness of despair brought down upon our heads by error, selfishness, and sin the true light of love, forgiveness, and hope blazes eternal. Only in the darkness do we discover the stars and only in the darkness of tragedy and suffering do we learn the true meaning and power of love and forgiveness. This is a tragic episode but, if we have the eyes, there is much that can be learned from it. In this time of darkness we might discover the spiritual stars (the fundamental spiritual truths) that will lead us to a better place, a better world - one where such tragedies are not merely no longer possible but actually inconceivable. So, let us pray, watch, wait, and prepare to retrieve the gems of wisdom from this unfortunate episode and use them to make a better, safer, and kinder world.