When Dallas McGowan, a fifth-grader at St. Elizabeth of Hungary School in Altadena, found out his best friend and classmate Mario Ramirez had been shot, he was, according to his mother Denise, “shocked.”
Recently Mario was caught in the crossfire of a shooting outside his house. He was hit by several bullets and rushed to the hospital. His injuries were life-threatening, doctors said.
Kids being far more plugged in than their parents, Dallas knew the horrible news before Denise and made a simple request.
“He asked me, ‘Can you pray with me?’ ”
He said he wanted to pray for his friend but also for guidance since, as he put it, “I don’t know how to feel.”
Prayer, parents and teachers will tell you, is as much a part of student life at St. Elizabeth as spelling tests and sports.
“This is a parish that prays,” said Laura Navarette, a fifth-grade room parent and friend of the Ramirez family. Her daughter, Yael, and Mario are friends.
“Every morning, students are asked, “Does anybody have anything to pray about?’ They prayed the rosary this summer because of COVID. They learn from the start that if there’s something going on in their lives, they are able to pray about it and pray together. They are very close.
“So when this happened to Mario and his family, we did things like create a donation bank and made cards, but, from the beginning, we prayed.”
Indeed, the St. Elizabeth community has done the other things you’d expect in support of Mario and his family. They helped start a GoFundMe page to help pay for Mario’s medical expenses, including for the extensive rehabilitation therapy that he’s expected to need. They have organized drives to make gift baskets for the family and, more recently, students were asked to create art of the Lakers’ LeBron James to give to Mario — fitting since, on his GoFundMe page, Mario is holding a basketball, wearing a James jersey, and flashing a big smile.
A few days ago, while fifth-grade class was being conducted on Zoom, one of St. Elizabeth’s students glanced down to see he had a call. It was Mario. The kid who was facing life-threatening injuries was now well enough to chat with a friend. The friend soon told the rest of the class that Mario was on the phone and put him on speaker.
“They all talked to him, they needed to hear him, and he needed to hear them,” room parent Laura said.
As Mario begins his long recovery, Pasadena Police are investigating “tirelessly” to find those responsible for the shooting.
“This case is a priority for the Pasadena Police department,” Pasadena Police Lt. Carolyn Gardon told Angelus when asked about the investigation.
Meanwhile, Mario’s classmates are discovering how much prayer is capable of binding them together.
“Without prayer, this could have turned out much different,” Laura said. “The kids are holding on to their faith like you cannot believe and it is making the difference.
“Prayer does move mountains.”
Full story at Angelus News.
Keep praying.
“I don’t know how to feel.” concerns me. Sometimes when something bad happens you don’t feel anything. Sometimes you feel mad or sad. Sometimes you see the rainbow in the clouds and you even feel glad, eventually.
Bad things can move you to better places.
God bless. God heal. God ease all pain. Mary, pray for all.
Please inspire the culprit to repent and to endure his or her repentance.
Bring every one to You, O Lord.
Feel sorry for that kid.
Hope the police catch the perpetrators. Meanwhile, how about federal limits on access to guns, especially assult weapons?
How about not thinking like a Communist? Too bad for you that there’s a 2nd Amendment and a natural, God-given right to self-defense. Wanna bet the guns used in this crime were illegally acquired and possessed? Anti-gun laws don’t make communities safer. Putting criminals behind bars makes communities safer. Executing murderers makes communities safer. That is to say: good guys with guns to defend themselves and effective law enforcement will make communities safe.
MikeM – What is an assult weapon?
gotcha question
Why?
My mistake. Sorry. did not catch the misspelling. I though you were trying to catch him in the AR-15 error that so many who ask for gun control make.
Criminals don’t obey laws. Chicago has some of the strictest gun bans and yet the highest crime from shootings. Gun laws keep law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves from the criminals who will always have guns.
May God heal completely Mario Ramirez, and may St. Michael the Archangel and St. Nicolas, by the power of God, protect all these children involved from those who would harm them both inside and outside their schools. May the perpetrators be found and kept from harming themselves and others. Amen.
Amen.