Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - August 11, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
“Americans try to pretend there's no such thing as tragedy.” The words come from a woman who lost a daughter in the blowing up of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland some years ago. She goes on to tell how her tragedy was met with what she calls “the junk food of psycho babble” from a “grief-therapy” expert. Her “only child is dead and (her) grief is constant and permanent” (Time, July 29, 1996, p. 50).
Christians and believers can also be guilty of offering inadequate nourishment to such sufferers. No matter how strong and compelling the thought of eternal life might be for us personally, we can't simply offer it willy-nilly to others. Those who don't share it are not only non-believers but among us Christians, too, conviction and faith on such issues varies.
What we believe is not the only determinant of what we can offer others. What they feel and what they believe is an equally important factor. If we think that tragedy is good for our soul, that's our business but we can hardly hoist that on every poor sorrowing person who comes along. The best we can do in someone's grief is often not a matter of words but of our presence and practical help.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
