Pauca Verba: "We love you...You're very special."

Sunday, January 10, 2021

"We love you...You're very special."

In the fall of 1968, a school friend and I went on a pilgrimage to Washington D.C. sponsored by the Franciscan Fathers out of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan. We spent the better part of the day at the Franciscan Holy Land Shrine and the next morning at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where I served the pilgrim Mass and went into the marvelous Guadalupe Shrine I have since visited many times.

But one of the most memorable bits of that trip was when my friend and I left the hotel at night and walked over to the Capitol. I remember standing under the dome which was lit up like this — the same creamy white color — the same lighting. We could get so close because it was 1968 — a world away. And while I was mystified by the beauty of the building, I was also very much in awe of the place, knowing it was at the heart of my country.

Then, this past Wednesday that building was attacked and trashed by rioters, who more than assaulting the building, sought to harm the leaders who assemble and work there. Only after several hours of mayhem, did the President speak, saying to the destroyers, "We love you...You're very special." Ordinarily, what a lovely and sensitive thing to say to someone, "We love you...You're very special." I can imagine saying that to a tearful, sorrowing child. But the President was addressing people who were overwhelming the police (one officer subsequently died of his injuries) and breaking down the doors where House Representatives and Senators work.

Here, I'd like to take the two misplaced sentences and send them out to the worthy people who really deserve to hear them ~

To the babies in the womb and their covid-era parents