The Catholic Community in Brooklyn and Queens joins me in praying for the repose of the souls of Police Officer Wenjian Liu and Police Officer Rafael Ramos. We offer our sincere condolences to the families of our fallen Police Officers and pray earnestly for their consolation. Each day, 35,000 of our fellow citizens put on blue uniforms and patrol the streets of our city to keep us safe. Each deserves our prayers and gratitude. These finest of men and women will undoubtedly continue to patrol and keep us safe by the strength of their service.

As we face evil, it sometimes seems as though the light has been extinguished for our world. As people of faith, we believe that it is precisely into this unexplainable situation that God comes to make His home. Emmanuel, “God with us,” and so we are convinced that a “light shines in the darkness and the darkness shall not extinguish it.” Saint Michael the Archangel, patron of our Police Officers, pray for us.