Redemption in Tragedy: A Reflection on the Death of Father Kenneth Walker

You may have heard about the recent, tragic attack in a downtown Phoenix church that left Father Kenneth Walker dead and Father Joseph Terra critically injured. This comes on the heels of the murder of Fr. Eric Freed a beloved pastor in Humboldt, CA at the beginning of this year. After hearing this most recent news, I immediately started trying to figure out God’s plan in an event so senseless. I quickly gave up.

That evening I read the quintessential Gospel verse: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). Immediately, Father Eric and Father Kenneth came to my mind. I also thought of David and Greg Florian, two brothers and faithful Catholics who died recently after being swept away by currents while walking on a sandbar in Florida.

I cannot imagine that God willed the deaths of these men. But he certainly allowed them to happen. We may ask ourselves why, but I am not sure our minds can comprehend such things except in heaven.

But these men, like all of us, were made in the image and likeness of God. They also lived their Christian Baptism and Confirmation to the fullest so their souls possessed the indwelling of the Trinity and the indelible configuration to Christ that these sacraments bring along with them. Father Kenneth and Father Eric were also marked with the character of Christ in a special way through their ordination.

When God looked upon Father Eric, Father Kenneth, David, and Greg he saw his Son.

Any Christian who lives his or her baptismal graces to the fullest, lives a life of constant dying to self. This way of life allows us to participate in the mystery of Christ who continues to redeem the world throughus.

These men loved God and lived for God. By living their faith to the fullest, they had already offered their lives for the sake of others. Stepping into the radical nature of the Christian life is a step into martyrdom. The evil and flawed nature of our world hastened these men’s martyrdom.

Even though it was not through a traditional act of martyrdom, Father Eric, Father Kenneth, David, and Greg offered their lives for the world in a unique way. I believe God in his mercy accepts their tragic deaths as a mysterious and exceptional participation in the redemptive action of his Son in the world. Like Jesus, these men offered their lives for the world. 

It is tragic, it is senseless, it is heartrending, but like the death of Jesus on the cross, God sees evil and in his goodness brings greater redemption and grace from it.

Father Eric, Father Kenneth, David, and Greg, pray for us.