The news media’s on-site coverage of the July 13 attempted assassination of Donald Trump produced a host of enduring images.

The most iconic of all was The Associated Press’ almost cinematic photograph of Secret Service agents with the former president — bloodied but defiant, his fist raised — exiting the stage with an American flag rippling in the background.

But there is a different, widely viewed image that speaks to the broader reality of what happened that day in rural Butler, Pennsylvania.

It’s a computer-generated animation showing the trajectory of the would-be assassin’s bullet as it whizzed past Trump, just nicking his ear. Had he not turned his head at the last possible instant, it seems probable he would have died on the spot.

We can’t know what Donald Trump thought or felt in those next moments, as more rifle shots rang out and Secret Service agents piled on top of him. One imagines he is still processing what happened, like the rest of us.

Police officers and those who have seen combat will tell you that nothing focuses the mind quite like having a bullet aimed at your head. But sudden reminders of our inescapable mortality can arrive unexpectedly, in innumerable other ways far more mundane but no less dramatic.

Whatever one’s view of Trump, however saddened, perplexed or angry we may be about the shooting, we shouldn’t lose sight of the larger lesson here: Our  life can end at any minute.

July 13 was a memento mori moment for America.

We might wonder if this will somehow change Trump as a man. How could it not? Though no one can know what’s in his heart or predict what lasting impact these events will have, the reflective, grateful tone of Trump’s remarks in the days after the shooting — and again in parts of his long acceptance speech for the GOP’s presidential nomination Thursday night — suggests he has much to contemplate. Among other things, there is the heroism of the agents with him on the stage, the injuries of two other rallygoers and the tragic death of Corey Comperatore, a longtime volunteer firefighter, father and devout Christian who was shot and killed when he shielded members of his family from harm.

And what about the rest of us? How should we respond to this shocking act of violence?

We might begin by taking stock of our own lives and priorities.

Have we put God first? Is drawing closer to him in prayer the center of our day, or is he an afterthought?

What about the time we devote to our families, our parishes and our neighbors in need, compared to the hours we spend absorbed with our jobs, careers and recreational pursuits? Is rebalancing in order there?

What about good citizenship? If we’re distressed by the state of our country and local communities, are we doing anything constructive to make things better?

What about those who don’t share our beliefs and values? Do we demonize and insult them on social media, or do we try to love and respect them as fellow children of God — and lead them to Christ, as he commands us to do? Many on both sides of our political divide have talked about “lowering the temperature.” Have we taken any concrete action to do this ourselves in our own homes? One surefire way to do this is to put down our phones and pick up our rosaries.

So many troubling questions remain unanswered about the events of July 13. The Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security have so little credibility left in this moment to engender any faith in their ability to give Americans the honest, impartial answers they deserve, which is why an independent investigation is so critical.

But in the end, it’s the answers to the hard questions we ought to be asking ourselves — to make sure our own lives are in order and that we’re right before the Lord — that are of far greater consequence.

Above all, we ought to thank God for sparing Trump’s life, whether we intend to vote for or against him in November.

Had he been killed, our teetering, divided nation would have been plunged into even deeper distrust, disillusionment and moral confusion.

It wasn’t just Donald Trump who dodged a bullet in Butler.

May God bless you!