“The mouth of the just man shall meditate wisdom; the law of his God is in his heart, his steps do not falter. (Ps. 37: 30-31)

Within the space of a week or so Americans have witnessed three despicable acts of public violence: one taking the lives of two innocent children in Minneapolis, then a young Ukrainian woman fatally stabbed on a Charlotte bus (both acts indiscriminate and random), and culminating in the deliberate and heinous murder of popular pod-caster Charlie Kirk in Orem, Utah. Kirk was outspoken about his Christianity and fearlessly proclaimed the Kingship of Jesus Christ. Fewer than two months before his death he was urging fellow Evangelical Christians to engage in a deeper understanding of and reverence for Mary, the Mother of God. He is reported to have been attending Mass with his Catholic wife and children at least twice a month. He had become both mentor and role model to millions of millennials and generation Z kids deeply searching for something more than what this superficial hedonistic culture was offering.

Kirk was known for cheerfully engaging his left leaning opponents in honest debate on campuses around the country while convincing many that social conservatism, not the prevailing DEI and transgender madness, represented the real hope for the future of his generation. Just shy of 32 years old, Charlie was ruthlessly slain simply for defending truth as he understood it. What those who continue to despise Charlie Kirk, even after his death, seem unable to grasp is that Kirk genuinely loved the sinner even as he hated the sin. He was the proverbial good shepherd seeking to bring back any lost sheep. In this Kirk was the antithesis of Satan, the ‘accuser,’ who loves the sin yet hates the sinner. Even if one did not agree with everything Charlie expressed, you had to admire the man for his vitality, integrity, and raw courage. Another good shepherd, Bishop Joseph Strickland, has rightly pointed out we must not forget to pray for the repose of Charlie’s soul because he was human just like the rest of us. Likewise we need to pray for a repentant heart and timely conversion of Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, a young man grossly deceived by the demoniacal culture which incessantly radicalizes and alienates the young from truth and common sense.

Of course the predictable and tedious commentary about why a good God did not prevent such a tragedy will be spewing forth from social media ad nauseam. Why does God regularly allow evil to afflict good people? That question continues to mystify modern man, I believe, because our culture has adopted such a shallow understanding of the very meanings of good and evil; truth and falsehood. What is good anyway, and who are the “good people?” In the Gospel our Lord makes a seemingly odd reply to this question, “Why do you call me good? There is only One who is good.” (Mt. 19:17) Did Christ mean that only his Father is good and therefore everything else must be evil? Of course not! It was his way of teaching that goodness emanates not from ourselves but from God alone. So in order to make any sense of evil, one must first understand “the good” in its proper context.