Father Dennis Zehren struggled to hold back tears as he addressed his Minneapolis congregation, drawing on Jesus’ parable of humility to reflect the community’s grief after this week’s deadly shooting .

“Jesus says… sit with me in this low place,” the Annunciation Catholic Church pastor told the packed auditorium on Saturday, just days after a shooter fired through the church’s stained-glass windows at students in prayer.

The Mass, held in the school auditorium just steps away from the parish’s now-closed sanctuary, marked the first such gathering for the congregation since the attack. The church that three days before was filled with excited students and watchful teachers at the start of a new school year is now a crime scene.

“This is not our normal seat, this is not where we usuall

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