JUNE IS NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH. Every day, more than 300 people are directly impacted by gun violence in the United States. Gun Violence Awareness Month was created to draw attention to this tragic reality and demand life-saving change. The St. Louis Archdiocese honors this month with a weekly series of bulletin articles.

From the St. Louis Archdiocesan Task Force On Gun Violence Prevention:

Gun violence devastates individuals, families, and communities in the United States and the St. Louis Archdiocese. As Archbishop Rozanski noted at last summer’s Gun Violence Summit, “Gun violence is a human life — a quality of life — issue.  Those who are threatened by gun violence are not living the fullest potential of their lives.”

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ this weekend, we are reminded of the institution of the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, part of which is that He is the final sacrifice, and sacrifices are no longer needed.  So may we become aware of the useless sacrifices of human lives every year to gun violence.

More than 43,000 Americans are killed with guns, and approximately 76,000 more are shot and wounded. In Missouri, more than 1,300 people die by guns every year.  Missouri has the 7th highest rate of gun deaths in the country.