Response to Charleston killings and to all that is going on here in our land

There has been so much in going on in our communities.  There is so much going on in our country.  There is so much going on in the world.  In the last few weeks, i have had to deal with so much going on in my parish.  We have seen things like the killings in Charleston.  And with that happening, I look to my own hometown of Chicago, where last I last there were at least 35 murders in the city of Chicago in the month of June, and perhaps more than that with some more occurring in the last days before the month ended.  Greece is defaulting on it loans, with could cause a financial crisis throughout Europe and in world markets.  In the last few weeks, the Confederate flag, our health care system, and marriage are all being looked at and debated.  And I try to focus on some idea that makes sense in the 7 to 10 minutes I have to give a homily to my congregation here in Tupelo.  Here is the response to the Charleston killings from one of our national Catholic leaders, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia.  And having myself been a member and a priest at traditionally African American parishes here in Mississippi, my heart goes out to that community and to our entire country.  

A deeply saddened Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia offered the deepest sympathies of the Catholic faithful in his archdiocese to the victims’ families and the members of Emanuel Church. In a statement, he said, “All life matters, and when life is taken in such a violent way, all people of good will are devastated. ... May love be our mission and give us the strength to drive out hate, today and always.”