After Kamloops tragedy, trust God

I am a sinner. I believe in one God, trust Him, follow His ways, and wish to unite with Him after my earthly life.

I do so as a practising member of the Roman Catholic Church.

I believe my God exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I believe in the reality of the Holy Eucharist.

I am in my 80s. I am a white male. And write this letter as an affirmation of my faith.

The recent revelations of the unmarked graves of 215 children on the property of the Kamloops Residential School has stirred active reactions from many of us from around the world.

Cries of misplaced reconciliation; demand for a personal Papal apology; debunking of the political promise again of learning from this tragedy; seeking material compensation from the death of others as a means for healing are being widely promoted.

None of which I as one can achieve. I can be a witness – but my God calls me out to me to do more.

What can I do? I can recall that my God promised that those that suffer in His name — especially the little ones — resides with Him.

I am now aware that there are 215 more saints in heaven residing with my Lord from whom I can seek favour.

I can remind myself that the pope is not the church. The members of the body make up the church. As a member, I must apologize to my Native Canadian friends.

I can admit I was not there. I do not know both sides of the story. Therefore, I can not judge the actions of another.

I can affirm my belief in divine providence and pray that unity of mankind will prevail from our reactions to this event.

To my daily prayer offering I will pray for healing. For the survivors; to all visible minorities, to all strangers and especially for those who seem different than me because I do not know them.

With all my fears, I tread on God’s good Earth seeking His comfort.

Thank you, blessed children of Kamloops, for your sacrifice to help an old white guy like me to reach out to His God and fellow man today.

Dallas Elliott, Kelowna