Little Christina Taylor Green was the daughter of former Phillies baseball manager Dallas Green. She was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania in the hours after the September 11 tragedy. The picture of innocence and hope, she's gone all too soon.
By contrast, the shooter, Jared Loughner, had his mugshot plastered all over the media today. He appeared to be smiling, which made the photo all the more chilling. As is typical of tragedies involving the mentally unstable, all kinds of people are coming forward now to say they knew he wasn't quite right. Classmates blogged that he scared them and one person went so far as to say he was the kind of guy who comes to school with a gun and kills people. I haven't seen anything written about his parents, or what kind of childhood he had. The little bit that we do know is that he was rejected by the Army, was unemployed, and was asked to leave his junior college and seek a psychiatric evaluation. And, that somehow, he was able to get his hands on a gun, a gun he used to put a bullet into a woman's head at close range.
It's hard to feel any sympathy for Loughner, but I do. Father Benedict Groeschel once went so far as to say that mental illness is the crown of thorns that those who bear it must suffer. People don't ask to have psychological problems. Unlike childhood cancer or muscular dystrophy, there are no telethons for children who come into the world with a brain that's less than perfect. More often than not, they're singled out by classmates for harassment and left in isolation to deal with their pain. I have no idea if that has been the case with Loughner, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Parents of children who are not quite right mentally also bear a special cross. There are always accusations that they didn't do enough or pay enough attention to the signs. Only they know whether or not that is true. What's more, treatment is exceedingly expensive and often not covered by most health insurance plans. And so-called treatment is often a shot-in-the-dark. There is no panacea for mental illness, no chemotherapy to cure the illness and send it into remission.
One thing we can be assured of, and that is the infinite mercy of God. At times like these, I take particular comfort in the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Christ died for the ungodly. We may not be able to think about extending forgiveness to a monster who would kill a nine-year-old child. But that's the foundation of our faith. I think of the image seen on so many memorial cards at funerals that depict Christ on a steep mountain slope, swooping down heroically to scoop up a wayward lamb.
In the aftermath of the Virgina Tech tragedy, the anguish and pain that was the shooter's life came to light. A friend asked me if I thought he had gone to hell. I told her I didn't know, but that I had a recurring image of Christ offering him the only consolation he had ever known in his life. Who knows? None of us do. The only thing we do know is that mercy and forgiveness are there for the taking and we have only to ask. We can take it a step further and beg for it for someone repulsive. Where is the grace in praying only for those we can tolerate?
May God have mercy on those who lost their lives. May those responsible for this seek His mercy and forgiveness.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful post. As an employee of a state psychiatric hospital for the last sixteen and a half years, I see compassion for the mentally ill as something very rare.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is sad how easily this segment of our society is dismissed and stigmatized. I can only hope they join their suffering to the cross of Christ.
ReplyDeletePeace
This was a very thoughtful post. You certainly prompted me to have some compassion for him. My mother has had throughout her life some mild depression and paranoia. Very mild and corrected with medication. But it has given me a small window into the mentally ill. I can see their suffering. One does need to keep that in perspective with Loughner. Unfortunately this young man went and ruined an awefull lot of lives.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments Manny. It is hard, especially in light of the destruction this young man caused, not only to the lives that he took but to his own and his family. I'm glad your mom was helped by medication. We of course don't know if this man's family is religious, etc. but I certainly hope they will seek God's mercy and forgiveness as well as His help.
ReplyDeletePeace