Photo: Time.com

"When a wife loses a husband, she is called a widow. When a husband loses his wife, he is called a widower. When a child loses his parents, he is called an orphan. But when parents lose a child, there is no name for it."

I first heard these words from a Homily in the mass Fr. Jerry Orbos officiated  years ago and it made a mark. Today, I ponder on it again as I read through the horrifying shooting incident at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.When I first saw the Facebook status of one of my friends living in the United States, I did not have an inkling of what was happening. But as days passed, I would read one article after the other about the death of 26 people, 20 of whom are children the same age as my nephew and my godchild.

As I read every news on the internet everyday, questions and convictions form in my mind. More than just a venue of learning, schools are supposed to be a place where there is a feeling of security as it resembles the home.These kids died young and could have made a difference if they were only given the chance to live.

But they died in a senseless, brutal manner -- and they don't deserve that.

These children died happily anticipating Christmas with their families which will never happen. It is a sad thought that the Yuletide season will never be the same for those they left behind.

My best friend and even my mom once told me, (in the event of) death of a child, half of a parent's life dies with them too -- and it's among the hardest part of being a parent. The other day, while I was in the supermarket fetching the items I was to donate for our company outreach, I could not help but discreetly shed a tear. Despite that I don't have kids yet, I felt like maternal instinct hit me. For the first time, the thought of "what if one of those kids were my son or my daughter?" entered my mind. The thought was enough to throw my heart in a pit of inexplicable grief.

I've always had the belief that children are supposed to outlive their parents and not the other way around. And it is every parent's earnest wish to be able to see their kids grow up and be who they could become. If only that could remain the same way forever. Recovering from a harrowing ordeal as this would take years. I pray that the families of the victims would somehow find comfort from our prayers and in the assurance that in time, Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.