On this Easter Sunday, I wanted to share some thoughts I had during these past days about the most recent butchery of my fellow Christians in Kenya.
Following the news as closely as I do, I thought I had become accustomed to graphic images of terror that ISIS has spawned. Then, I saw this tweet:
I was punched in the gut.
Perhaps it is because I recall my step-daughter, whose graduation I attended just a few short years ago? She was so vibrant, and fulled with life and prospects for a happy, healthy and successful future.
Now, 148 families will not get to experience the same joy. Evil has extinguished 148 young students who would have contributed so very much to their families, community and nation.
Perhaps it is because my son is now talking about going to college, and has mentioned several Catholic universities as possibilities? As I read this passage from a news report, I mentally placed my boy in this situation:
Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said when the gunmen arrived at his dormitory he could hear them opening doors and asking if the people who had hidden inside whether they were Muslims or Christians.”If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot,” he said. “With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die.”
Perhaps it is because I am angry, because family pizza joints in this country are easy targets for religious-tolerance campaigns by members of the “Church of Perpetual Outrage”? This butchery should be the type of event that inspires activism.
Appallingly, despite the coverage, President Obama failed to mention the fact Christians were targeted in his formal statement on Kenya.
Today, a special Easter Mass was offered in Kenya…appropriately in Our Lady of Consolation Church, which was attacked several years ago by Islamic militants.
New reports being released indicate that one of the gunmen who slaughtered 148 people at a college in Kenya was identified Sunday as the law-school-educated son of a Kenyan government official, and highlights how effective the terrorists recruitment drive has been:Abdirahim Mohammed Abdullahi, who was killed by security forces Thursday along with the three other militants who stormed Garissa University College, was the son of a government chief in Mandera County, which borders Somalia, Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told The Associated Press.The chief had reported his son missing last year and feared he had gone to Somalia, Njoka said….The news that one of the gunmen was Kenyan highlights the challenges faced by the government in preventing terrorist attacks. The danger comes not only from neighboring Somalia but also from within Kenya.Kenyans make up the largest number of foreign fighters in al-Shabab, according to experts. Hundreds of Kenyan youths have trained with al-Shabab and then returned to Kenya, posing a major security threat, according to former police chief Mathew Iteere.
Social media tools have ensured that nearly all Christians are aware that they are potential martyrs at the hands of Islamic terror agents. And while “sainthood by martyrdom” is an option, personally I would prefer Pope Francis highlight our Warrior Saints.
This time, the Christians would not be fighting to make unwilling converts, but to defend ourselves from evil. I want to see the evil perpetuated by ISIS and other radicalized adherents to be vanquished completely.
I was reminded yesterday that Jesus Christ descended into Hell. Sadly, hell has come to earth. I spent Holy Saturday praying for Kenya’s martyrs, and vow to do the same for innocents who die at the hands of terrorists next year. Hopefully, that list will be shorter next year.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY
