The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

Thinking about the tragedies that have rocked humanity over the centuries, I find myself thinking "Why does God allow these things?" And the usual answers chime in- "We live in a broken world." "There will always be evil." "There will always be evil people." And so on. But then, the other day I was thinking about our modern day martyrs. Why are these people being allowed to murder Christians and other people of faith?

If our early Church Fathers had died of old age, living comfortably in a lavish house, would they have done all the work Christ had for them to do? Would they have taken Christ's ministry to every corner of the known world? Then, in most cases, they died horrible deaths because they believed in Christ and His work. If Christ had been just another prophet or good person, I don't think so many would've had the courage given by The Spirit to die for their faith. Their lives spread the Word of God and began the Church on Earth. Their deaths show just how full their faith was!

These same men who walked with Our Lord on earth, ate with Him, talked with Him, shared their concerns with Him, and left Him when He needed them the most, were also the people He first appeared to after He rose from the dead! The same people who Christ gave the Holy Spirit to in a room. Christ didn't just meet them halfway, He met them when they had no understanding of the Gospels and gave them the fullness of faith! The complete understanding of what was prophesied and how He fulfilled everything that had been foretold for generations! Simply because they accepted that He was the Messiah!

God, in His infinite wisdom, took something awful (Christ's earthly death) and gave us Salvation. He took the apostles doubt, and gave them the fullness of faith to start the Church on Earth! He used the faith of these men to give us people to look up to. Despite persecution for our faith, we can take courage in knowing others have gone before us. Not just in death, but in persecution for their belief. When you doubt that you're encountering Christ in the Eucharist, remember those apostles who doubted in that upper room. Remember the Saints who were persecuted and killed in the coliseum, in remote locations, in their own hometowns for converting and today in many places around the world. Remember that God can take every bad situation and bring something good out of it.

Natural disasters also bring out the best in humanity. People who may have been closed off and distant are now helping their neighbor and feeding the homeless. Our eyes are opened to the plight of others because we're shown the devastation and loss of life. The recent earthquake in Nepal is a tragedy. Many families are missing a father, mother, son, daughter or more. The beauty out of this, is how humans come together in tough times to overcome the circumstances and horrible situations. God has given us a spirit of resiliency that helps us through, just as Christ gave the apostles the Holy Spirit to get them through. Yes we live in a broken and changing world, but God has given us the ability to overcome these situations, made man or from the earth, and if we look, the darkness gives way to the light.

All you holy men and women; pray for us, that we may attain the faith you have! God give us the courage to follow Your Son into Your Eternal Kingdom!