The Heavy Cross of One Child’s Death

The death of six-year-old Sean Luke has evoked feelings of anger, revulsion and sorrow in our nation. Since his body was discovered two Tuesdays ago, and the nature of his killing revealed, the anguish has been palpable. An innocent child was slaughtered. Good Friday, it seemed, had come too early.

What do we do with this traumatic experience? It is understandable that Sean’s death has sparked the kind of outrage it has in all quarters. It must also lead to honest self-scrutiny. The sordid affair should tell us the soul of the nation is sick. While it is true that similar gruesome events take place in other parts of the world, this young child’s killing speaks to the people of Trinidad and Tobago in the sharpest manner possible.

This crime must move every citizen to say: “It is enough.” When, in St Mark’s Gospel, Jesus uses these words at the time of his Passion he had come to a moment of quiet resolve. He had prayed and he was ready. A similar kind of commitment to doing what must be done is necessary now. To not say: “Enough!” is to allow evil to dictate the kind of life we live in Trinidad and Tobago.

As Holy Week begins, the Christian community will bring to mind, with poignancy, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus — the Paschal Mystery. Good Friday is not removed from Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday. Christians know that life flows from the Cross.

Jesus’ sacrifice is deeply connected to Sean’s death. The Church teaches: “Because in his incarnate divine person he (Christ) has in some way united himself to every man, ‘the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery’ is offered to all” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 618).

Gospel Must Take Root

Christ died so all humanity might be brought to fullness of life. The message of Christ is good news for all. When the message is not proclaimed and lived, evil has its way.

The meaning of Christ’s death and Resurrection, the principles and values of the Gospel, must take root in the hearts of all citizens, if brutal killings like that of Sean’s are not to be repeated. From another perspective, if our families can somehow allow these sad events to motivate them to live the principles and values of the Gospel then the heavy price of Sean’s death could contribute to the saving of our nation. This could be a powerfully creative moment for Trinidad and Tobago.

On the occasion of the 21st World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI challenges his “young friends”, in particular, to become familiar with the Bible. Using as his theme, words taken from Psalm 119, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v 105), he urges the youth: “Build your life on Christ . . . accept the word with joy and put its teachings into practice.” The Pope says: “There is an urgent need for the emergence of a new generation of apostles anchored firmly in the word of Christ, capable of responding to the challenges of our times and prepared to spread the Gospel far and wide.”

The Catholic News extends sympathy to the family of Sean Luke.