Light in the Darkness
This past July 4th weekend felt a little bit different as we heard of the tragedy of the flooding in Kerrville, Texas. The rain that has continued over the week seems like an external sign of the inward stirrings of many across the great state of Texas. My heart, I know along with many others’, continues to ache for those families who lost children and loved ones in the horrific catastrophe. May our prayers rise to the Heavens for consolation and hope in the midst of the darkness.
Tragedies such as the recent flooding in Kerrville sometimes cause other difficult memories in our own lives to surface: whether the local flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, COVID, or other heartbreaks that have happened in our families. Sometimes these tragedies make me pause and wonder, “Why?” Why does God allow such things to happen? Why does a good God permit His children, especially his little ones, to suffer? The head knowledge of, “well this is the result of the original sin-this is our broken human reality” or “this is just part of the mystery of the human experience” or “God promises to bring good out of evil,” all of these truths, though they may be correct, still seem to fall short. They still leave the human heart feeling confused, lost, and hurting.
During difficult times, the injustice of human suffering and death comes to the forefront of our reality. And when we experience death, darkness, or suffering, it can cause our hearts to ask, “Why?” And sometimes the “why” just seems to hang in the air with no real good answer. The words fall short. But in the stillness and in the questioning is where our God resides, it is where our God desires to meet us. Because words will not console a parent’s aching heart, words will not bring peace to the chaos, words will not bring hope to the darkness, only the presence of a person can bring about such fullness to the void. And not the presence of any person, but a divine person: Jesus Christ. Only Jesus has the power to comfort, to bring hope, and to transform in ways that words or ideas fall short. But even with the comfort of Jesus, I still wonder why sometimes bad things happen to good and faithful people and why good things happen to bad and unfaithful people.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The world we live in often seems very far from the one promised us by faith. Our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice, and death seem to contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it” (CCC 164). As these thoughts and feelings swirl around within us, the constancy of the Person still remains and we are reminded that we have a God who also suffered. We are reminded we have a God who has a beating human heart and has compassion on us in the midst of our own hurt and sufferings.
As we meditate on the words of Jesus, He reminds us that there may be injustices in the world right now, but in the world to come, all injustices will be made just, all pain will be brought to peace, and suffering will cease to exist. In a way, hurt and suffering reminds us that this world is not it. We are reminded that this world is passing, and that our ultimate homeland awaits us. A Heavenly homeland where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more tears, but only love. As we hold our loved ones a little tighter and think about the blessings of another day, may the words of Jesus, and most of all His very presence, bring us hope and light in the midst of the clouds and rain.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 5: 3-12