I’m not sure what to think when I listen to the reports of the Virginia Tech Massacre. There are many who look at the situation and grieve for the victims, and I am certainly one of those. But, whether or not it’s too early to contemplate on whether or not to seek compassion for the killer himself, I’m not at liberty to say.

Putting myself in the shoes of friends or family members of the victims that died, I’m not sure if I could even bring myself to even think of the shooter in anything else but animosity.

But, when I remember the way that the late Pope John Paul forgave the man who attempted to assassinate him, I tend to remember scriptures of how you should always forgive those who have trespassed against you. Are we discriminate in our forgiveness or compassion, or is it alright to have a few exceptions?

In the days past and in the days to come, my prayers for the victims, their friends, and their families will be strong. But, I cannot help myself and give my short prayer for the soul of this sick and even evil shooter.

Who am I to judge?

But in the math of all of this, there were 32 victims who died, 1 shooter, and 33 that shouldn’t have died in the first place.

One last figure is something that is uncountable, and that is the millions of individuals who have been affected by this tragedy. In the days that have gone by, it is as if we have all become Virginia Tech members, as more information has come out with regards to the victims who died in this tragedy, I can’t help but feel an even deeper connection to those who died. They were sons, daughters, and even fathers. They had families and friends, they had lives that meant something to each and everyone who knew them.

Their time in this earth was cut short, and the possibilities that could’ve been, we will never know. And that, I think, just adds to the sorrow of this very tragic event.