Happy Independence Day. Meanwhile, a member of our “well-regulated” militia took it upon himself to shoot up a 4th of July parade, and state-sponsored terrorism continues unchecked.

Places safe from mass shootings: workplaces schools malls movie theaters concerts backyard parties parades nowhere

But freedom, amirite? A few tens of thousands of unnecessary death is just the price of freedom. Except for in every single other free country in the world, where these types of mass shootings do not happen.

Pro-life my ass.

Today’s Daily Meditation by Richard Rohr contains an incredible quote by Thomas Merton that resonates:

“The Christian is not merely ‘alone with the Alone’ in the Neoplatonic sense, but [is] One with all ‘brothers and sisters in Christ.’ The Christian’s inner self is, in fact, inseparable from Christ and hence it is in a mysterious and unique way inseparable from all the other ‘I’s’ who live in Christ, so that they all form one ‘Mystical Person,’ which is ‘Christ.’”

Western Christianity has largely misunderstood the concept of the Body of Christ, which has led to rampant individualism. Just look at the way Christians were at the forefront of the anti-mask and anti-vax communities at the height of the pandemic. If we fail to understand the mystic nature of our union with Christ that makes up Christ’s body, we fail to understand everything!

Until we understand that not only are we our sibling’s keeper, but in fact that we are one in our very nature with our sibling, we will continue to go down the paths of war, and greed, and injustice.