It is difficult for me to ignore the fact that we are in a great crisis worldwide, which has apocalyptic features. The seriousness of the situation becomes clear when one considers the many restrictions at the civilian level, to the extent that personal freedom is significantly limited in various fields. Even more difficult for the faithful is the fact that many are no longer able to receive the sacraments, so that they are deprived of the comfort that the Church normally offers her children.
I am currently in Germany, which is one of the European countries most affected by the pandemic. After Italy and Spain, it has the highest number of infected people on the European continent. The government’s measures are strong; the Churches are closed…
We, as believers, have to learn how to deal correctly with such a situation, and, as far as possible, understand it from the perspective of faith. Although I had mentioned the current pandemic over and over again in my daily meditations, I would now like to specifically address it.
Thank God, these meditations, along with the Sacred Music, are reaching many people, and for some they have become like daily spiritual bread. We all rejoice in this, because it is a work of the Lord, and to be able to serve this work is for us an honor and it really fills us.
As some of my listeners know, I also have other means, in one of which I answer questions on matters of faith, and in another I present my critical view of certain current events in the Church and in the world. As I have mentioned on several occasions, I want to use these daily meditations rather for specifically spiritual topics.
However, in this pandemic, various aspects come together, if we do not consider it simply as an unavoidable fate or pretend to explain it only from the natural plane.
Of course, I cannot say for sure this or that. Only God can do that! But I am confident that the Holy Spirit will give us some light and guidance in dealing spiritually with the present situation. In fact, it is not always necessary to know everything precisely; that is, not to be quasi-“all-knowing”. More important is to know how to deal with such a situation.
It is something similar to what the Lord gave us to understand in his eschatological discourse. He clearly told us that He would return at the End of Time, and He also instructed us to be on the lookout for signs that would announce His coming. But he did not tell us the day or the hour of his Return, which only the Father knows (cf. Mk 13,32).
It could be the same in this pandemic… We will not be able to find a complete explanation, where everything fits perfectly. But the Lord, in His wisdom, will let us know what is necessary for the present situation. Much more important than knowing everything is trusting and doing the right thing!
As I have already said in several previous meditations, I think this pandemic is allowed by God, and it could be understood as a rebuke. Men are losing sight of God more and more, thus turning away from the true reason and meaning of their existence. This is happening above all in countries that were Christianized many centuries ago, which now often renounce their heritage and give in to materialism and consumerism, or adopt ideologies and false doctrines.
Let us think of many countries in Europe, or of not a few people in the United States or other parts of the world. Thus, God falls into oblivion and one feels safe in his earthly life, in which apparently everything is well secured and ordered; where one can get and do practically everything.
However, a relevant fact is overlooked: that one lives in the midst of a “culture of death”, which is spreading more and more, and which is being promoted or at least not fought against sufficiently. This culture of death does not respect the life of unborn children, allows or encourages unnatural sexual practices, and even wants to make the absurdity of gender ideology official on a political level, among many other things… In short, it is a life of growing oblivion of God.
And then the unexpected happens…
Suddenly, security starts to wobble. You can no longer travel, and suddenly the future appears uncertain. What trust had been placed in, becomes unstable. Existential fears arise, fear of death; civil liberty is restricted because of the danger of contagion… In short, it seems that the ground under our feet has been taken away.
First conclusion:
Shouldn’t a loving Father correct His children when they go down the path of error, meaninglessness or death? Which is more important: a life of prosperity and apparent security, or the knowledge of God?
“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he loses his own soul?” says the Lord (Mt 16,26).
Now the decisive questions arise: What is essential in life? Where do we come from? Where are we going?
It is precisely now that the Church should take her message to the people with strength and wisdom! Is she doing it?
Tomorrow we will continue…
Harpa Dei accompanies the daily scriptural interpretation or spiritual teaching of Br. Elija, their spiritual father. These meditations can be heard on the following website www.en.elijamission.net