I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.
Despite all the relentless efforts of the firefighters the wildfires continue to affect a vast number of the inhabitants of Los Angeles and its suburbs. Though the situation seems to be beyond human control, I can assure you that God has not abandoned His people and God will provide as long as people will cry out for help. It has always been like that. If you read the Bible you know that terrible things happened often, but God was always there to help His people.
On our part, what we all can and should do right now is to is to pray more and support those who have lost everything in whatever way we can. Prayer is first, for God can do wonders and when we are united in prayer, God listens. Next time, when you say the prayer of Our Father, think more seriously about what you are saying, especially when you utter the words “and deliver us from evil.” In the Lord’s prayer we ask God to deliver us from both, spiritual and material evils. If only we would say this prayer with a grain of authentic faith in our heart, God would hear our prayers and deliver us from evil. Then there is action, for it is our Christian duty to help each other. Let us remember that we should do it not only for the people of California, but also for those who are close to us and for those that are living in other areas of the country and the world whose lives were changed due to recent natural disasters, wars, or violence. May God protect them all.
Blessings of peace to you. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor