Fifth Sunday of Lent reflection

Suicide by gun

By Mary Ann McGivern, SL

"I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die." John 11:25-26

Here in the United States, 27,000 people a year kill themselves with a gun. Most, in a terrible moment, reach for the tool closest to hand, a gun. The impulse to end one’s life is carried out quickly.

The United States has a lot of guns, and about 80% of the world’s suicides by gun take place here. Most of the victims—87%—are men.

We grieve for these men and for the women and children who die by self-inflicted gunshot. And we grieve for their families, their friends, the ones who find the bodies and the ones who clean up after them.

Suicide sears deeply. My brother chose medically-assisted suicide, and while I understand and feel deeply for all his reasons, his choice to die is like a burn on my heart. But to kill yourself without warning others, suddenly, violently, that must cause a pain I cannot imagine.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. I have a vision of my brother awakening from death, his eyes wide and his soul filling with delight at the experience of new life. May it be so.

We pray that God continues to embrace all those who choose death. We pray that each of us is smarter and more careful about how we use and store guns. We pray that our work will help build a better society and a future that invites us all to choose life. And we pray that all these souls who have died by their own hands rest in peace.

About Mary Ann McGivern, SL

Mary Ann McGivern, a Sister of Loretto, worked with people who have felony convictions and tirelessly advocates for criminal justice. She lived at a Catholic Worker house for 28 years. She has been a public radio commentator and written plays and a cookbook. Sr. Mary Ann lives at the Loretto Motherhouse in Kentucky.

Call to action

Learn more about the huge problem of gun suicide in the United States through Everytown for Gun Safety.
Learn more about "red flag laws" that allow extreme risk protection orders (ERPO) to remove guns from the hands of people who've demonstrated that they are a risk to themselves or others through Giffords Law Center.
If you live in a state without a red flag law, contact your state lawmakers to advocate for one.

Join our Lenten Fast