In these past days, our country has been shaken by one heartbreak after another. Children lost in a school shooting during Mass. A young woman attacked and taken from her family. And now, a husband, a father, and a voice in the public square—gone in an instant at a university debate.

It feels like the world has cracked open. The weight of it all is almost too much to bear. These aren’t just headlines; they are lives. Precious, unrepeatable lives, each with a family, a story, and a future that mattered.

When darkness closes in, it is tempting to let fear and despair harden our hearts. But even in moments like this, I believe we are called to remember what is still good. To honor those lost by holding closer the ones we love, by speaking kindness into the noise, by noticing the beauty that is still here.

Grief reminds us that every life matters. And hope reminds us that love is never wasted. To keep choosing joy, to keep choosing compassion, to keep believing in light when the world feels so heavy—that is not naïve, it is courage.

So tonight, I pray. I pray for the families whose grief is raw and overwhelming. I pray for peace in places where violence has left scars. And I pray that together, we will be people of light—steady and unshaken—even when shadows fall.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” — John 1:5

With love, with hope, and with a heart that still believes in goodness—
Jenny