“The idea of schadenfreude, taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others, is rejected by Jesus in the Gospels,” Daniel Daly said of those celebrating the murder of UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Brian Thompson.

Catholics in the audience may not have been as startled by Senator Vance’s emphatic, sympathetic invocation of the second response of the Kyrie eleison.

The challenge for Americans in a turbulent, anxiety-producing and, at times, dangerous world is to remain vigilant while keeping despair at bay.

A Sunday school class reveals how deeply all students have been affected by mass shooting incidents and constant “active shooter drills.”

By focusing on parental grief, “Mass” grounds us in human tragedy even as it touches on the political and social implications of the epidemic of school shootings in the United States.

My fellow Americans, I have some bad news: This is who we are.