Fr. Don's Daily Reflection
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
In the Old Testament Joseph, he of the “many colored dream coat,” we see a vivid example of how changing circumstances can put a different face on the tragedies and pain of life. His brothers, envious of his favor in the eyes of their father, had sold him into slavery. Eventually he becomes a power in Egypt, and is able to help his family during a famine. He is even large-hearted enough to reassure his brothers, passing over their treachery. “It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you” (Gen. 45:5). Joseph is able to see in his position in the Egyptian court an opportunity. He would never have become the Grand Vizier but for being sold into slavery.
The good that can come out of awful events is at the heart of our faith. We have it put before us when we commemorate the suffering, death and resurrection of the Lord at Mass. Out of evil God brings triumph and joy. We might have become accustomed to looking at the minor trials of life this way. We see how missing that long-awaited trip was providential in that we were able to be with mother when she became ill. We might even be able to see how being laid up with a broken leg taught us some compassion.
How far can we go with this? Certainly, it's safer to learn something ourselves from such misfortunes than to urge the same lessons on others. We hear frequently how some local tragedy, say the death of a teenager in an accident, brought together the whole neighborhood. A great good, in a sense, came out of a terrible tragedy. In many ways the best face we can put on the horror of Covid-19 is to look for and cherish any good we can see. We are safest in praying that we ourselves learn from the example of Christ how life can come out of sorrow and even out of death.
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!”