No, I didn't hear the gunshots, although the tragic shots were only three blocks away from my house. But I sure did hear the caravan of police cars and ambulances rush to the scene at the park where a man had just opened fire on a family at a Memorial Day picnic. Two died, three were injured - - and the peace and security we had presumed in our neighborhood was also gravely wounded.

It dawned on me - - for some in our community, these shots, killings, woundings, and sirens are an almost daily occurrence. Violence, murders, attacks, shootings, have reached epidemic proportions in the community we love. And summer - - the peak season for such savagery - - has just begun.

Thank God we have not grown used to it. Thank God we still can muster a sense of horror, of shame, of outrage. Thank God thoughtful people are beginning to say, this simply cannot continue.

The reasons for the murdering, fighting, bullets, knives, and fists are many. Some people observe that economics are to blame, as people without decent jobs or a hopeful future are driven to such acts of desperation; others attribute the violence to poverty, racism, broken families, drugs, or alcohol; some voices claim we need more police officers and tougher laws, while other commentators say guns are way too available; gross violence on TV, in our movies and in music, is the culprit, observe others.

But I'm not an expert on the cultural, economic, political, or racial reasons for the roaring forest fire of killings. I am, though, suppose to be somewhat savvy about spiritual matters.

And, at its core, is this violence not, as a matter of fact, a moral, spiritual problem? If we believed that every person is created in the image and likeness of God, we would never knowingly hurt another. If we were really concerned that the Lord has commanded us not to harm, kill, or abuse another, we would never resort to violence. If we truly accepted the truth that human life is sacred, deserving of dignity and reverence, at every stage, we would never destroy it.

That's why I enthusiastically accept Mayor Barrett's invitation to me and other religious leaders to devote this coming Sabbath - - Sunday, June 11 - - to intense prayer for an end to bloodletting and carnage in our homes, yards, streets, and parks. Hands joined in prayer cannot pull a trigger, stab, or punch.

We did it last year, remember? And I ask all our pastors, all our directors of worship, all our liturgical planners to do it again this weekend, at every parish, at every Mass: refer to the crisis in your sermons; pray for a ceasefire in the intercessions. When we're scared, worried, or at our wits' end, we best pray. And we're there, folks. Let us pray.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

Some Seed Fell on Good Ground is Archbishop Dolan's personal communication to those with whom he shares ministry in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. For this reason, it is not to be printed in bulletins or newsletters without the prior permission of the Department for Communication.