Fried Social Worker® Blog

My heart and prayers go out to all affected by the senseless loss of life at Virginia Tech today. I’m only one person, hundreds of miles away from the VT campus, but I add my prayers to those being offered across the nation.

I pray for the dead, for the repose of their souls. I pray for the friends and families they’ve left behind, that they will be comforted in their grief.

I pray for the recovery of those injured physically and emotionally by the assault. I pray for the medical staff and mental health counselors who will offer assistance in their recovery. May their skills help the injured find ways to triumph over this tragedy.

I pray for VT students & staff, the citizens of Blacksburg and all of Virginia, who feel the anguish of this horrible crime more acutely than the rest of us do. May they find the strength and courage to face the days ahead with dignity and a sense of purpose.

I pray for the law enforcement officials and other first responders who offered their services to the living, the dead, and the dying today. May they quickly recover from the trauma of the grisly crime scene they encountered today in their efforts to protect life and assist those in need. May we all appreciate the risks they took to their own personal safety in the name of public service.

Finally, I pray for our nation, where expressions of violence are so commonplace. May we be all the more motivated now to find answers to the problems which plague our nation and express themselves in such needless violence.