For the bad times, and good: prayer

Yet another shooting at a high school in Iowa.  And as far removed we are from them, we offer our prayers for the victims and their families, as well as for the gunman and his family.   Todd Starnes at foxnews.com asks: 

Why is school prayer only allowed during tragedies?

It was supposed to be a fairly quiet week at Chardon High School.
The boys basketball team, the Hilltoppers, was scheduled to play a game Monday night. Parent-Teacher conferences were set for Thursday.
It was just a normal day in Chardon, Ohio.
But normal changed at approximately 7:30 Monday morning.
Gunfire. Screams. Chaos.
A teenager – an outcast – armed with a gun – walked into the school cafeteria. In a matter of moments, five students were gunned down. At least one child died.
Terrified students huddled in classrooms. They called 911. They texted and tweeted. Teachers locked doors and implemented emergency procedures.
And at least one teacher chased the gunman out of the school – an act of bravery that possibly saved lives.

As police try to make sense of the senseless, the school superintendent called on people to pray.
It was a wise decision.
But perhaps lost in the chaos is the irony that in American public schools – people are not allowed to pray.
Liberals have successfully banished God from the classroom, replacing Him with the manmade god of secularism.
Yet in times of great tragedy, school leaders inevitably seek guidance and solace from the same God they’ve expelled. I’ve often wondered – if God is good enough for the bad times, shouldn’t He be good enough for the good times?
It’s a lesson I sadly suspect our nation’s educators will never learn.

True.  Why indeed?

We are still fortunate that prayer, even in public schools, in the Philippines is still allowed, or at the very least, no one gives a hoot about it when prayer is said in school.

In the public sphere, it is not uncommon that even the leftists offer Holy Mass before any protest action.  Why even NPA's or criminal elements when they find themselves cornered in a gun battle against the armed forces or police do not forget to seek the intercession of the saints in heaven.  

Any calamity or disaster strikes the faithfuls' hearts and souls with the fire to seek comfort in church and prayer, not only for their survival, but also petition strength for the victims that they may get back on their feet again.

Still, we notice that the churches are filled up few days prior and during final or board examinations, or when results are expected to come out; but very few come back after the good results are received.  The party places replace the churches, and the merry-making, the prayers of thanksgiving.

Now that we are in Lent, perhaps, we can find more time (the good times) with God.  Forty days is not that long.  So many to pray for as well.