“We often ask ourselves: is it perhaps a punishment from God? Did He bring about a war or a pandemic to punish us for our sins? And why does the Lord not intervene?” the Pontiff questioned.
Vatican City (21/03/2022 7:03 PM Gaudium Press) On Sunday, March 20, before reciting the Marian prayer of the Angelus and addressing the thousands of pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis, commented on the Gospel of St. Luke (Lk 13:1-9). The topic is the news that reached Jesus of deaths due to Pilate’s violence and the fall of the tower of Siloam.
Explaining this Gospel passage, people sought to find out who was to blame for these tragedies. However, the Pontiff sought to dispel the idea of a God responsible for our misfortunes. “When bad news weighs on us and we feel powerless before evil, we often ask ourselves: is it perhaps a punishment from God? Did He bring about a war or a pandemic to punish us for our sins? And why does the Lord not intervene?”
Instead of blaming God, we should look within ourselves
The Holy Father pointed out, however, that “when evil oppresses us, we risk losing our clarity and, to find an easy answer to what we are unable to explain, we end up putting the blame on God. And so often the very bad habit of using profanities comes from this. How often we attribute to Him our woes and misfortunes in the world, to Him who instead leaves us always free and hence never intervenes imposing, but only proposing; He who never uses violence and instead suffers for us and with us! “
Francis clarifies that “evil can never come from God because “He does not deal with us according to our sins” (Ps 103:10), but according to His mercy. This is God’s style. He cannot treat us otherwise. He always treats us with mercy.” Instead of blaming God, we should look within ourselves. “It is sin that produces death; our selfishness can tear apart relationships; our wrong and violent choices can unleash evil,” he noted.
The God of another possibility
The actual solution, according to the Pontiff, is conversion. “Let us turn from evil, let us renounce the sin that seduces us, let us be open to the logic of the Gospel because where love and fraternity reign, evil has no more power! But Jesus knows that conversion is not easy, and he wants to help us here, given that so many times we repeat the same mistakes and the same sins. We can become discouraged, and sometimes our commitment to do good can seem useless in a world where evil seems to rule.,” he stated.
“I like thinking that a nice name for God could be “the God of another possibility”: God always gives us another opportunity, always, always. That is what His mercy is like,” he stressed. The Pope emphasized that God “does not cut us out of his love. He does not lose heart or tire of offering us again His trust with tenderness. Brothers and sisters, God believes in us! God trusts us and accompanies us with patience, the patience of God with us. He does not get discouraged, but always instills hope in us. God is Father and looks after you like a father. As the best of fathers, He does not look at the achievements you have not yet reached, but the fruits you can still bear. He does not keep track of your shortcomings but encourages your potential. He does not dwell on your past, but confidently bets on your future. This is because God is close to us,” he concluded. (EPC)
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
