Dear Jesuit High School Community,

In this Easter season, we remember that Jesus Christ suffered a slow, agonizing death at the hands of authorities as people stood by and watched, either complicit in His murder, or powerless to stop it.

This past week, many of us watched with horror the violent killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, captured on videotape for the world to see. As our eyes swim with tears, it is hard to see the glory of Christ's empty tomb and the promise of Resurrection.

Today, we pray for the families of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Steven Taylor, and countless other victims of deliberate brutality and racism. With the Floyd family, we pray for an end to violence. As George's brother Terrence Floyd called for both justice and an end to rioting, he asserted that "George would have wanted both justice and peace."

Jesus suffered and died to bring an end to the cycle of sin and violence. After the Resurrection, He left all of us, broken and imperfect as we are, to carry out His great mission to set free the oppressed and to help the blind to see. The most recent killings in the streets of our nation, and the ensuing violence, once again leave us shaking with rage and frustration.

As a Catholic and Jesuit community, we believe that all of humanity is made in God's image. We unequivocally condemn all forms of prejudice, racism, and injustice of all human beings no matter what their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities, socio-economic means, or other forms of differentiation that result in marginalization, hatred, and violence.

May we have the courage to join those who have raised their voices in peaceful protest. May we seek with renewed vigor, as our Father Provincial Scott Santarosa, S.J. reminded us on the Feast of Pentecost, "to walk with those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice."

May we live out our Jesuit mission of solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized in our own communities, our nation, and our world. May our hearts grow bigger and our sensitivities to injustice sharpen. May we walk out of the shadow of bigotry and hatred toward the light of a more just world, together.

With hope and prayers.

Peace. AMDG