On the morning of Aug. 27, I was in Menasha, Wisconsin, preparing for an evening book presentation for area faithful. My co-presenter and I had just enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Weathervane restaurant and were heading back to the retreat house where we’d been staying.

Just ahead of our dropoff point, a line of Catholic elementary-school students who’d just begun their second day of school were making their way to their newly renovated playground.

Their young, gleeful voices gladdened my heart.

Back in my room just minutes later, my phone was flooded with headlines blasting news of school children being pummeled by bullets while at Mass in Minneapolis. Soon, I began learning of local connections to the school.

Needing my wits about me for the evening event, I avoided diving into

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