Now What?

I recently came across a Facebook post from a Texas man affected by Hurricane Harvey.  He was understandably upset and frustrated.  His post can be summarized as follows: “Please stop praying for us and do something.  Prayers don’t help; actions do.”  With all due respect and empathy for his situation, I beg to differ.  In fact, I think our most important prayer at times like this is, “Now what?”   

Tragedies, like Hurricane Harvey, raise a lot of questions, not the least of which is: “Why does God allow suffering?”  To be clear, God does not will or cause suffering, that would be contrary to God’s nature, but God does allow suffering to occur and continue.  “How,” we ask, “can an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent God permit evil and suffering?"  The short answer is, we don’t really know.  While there have been many attempts to answer that question, my favorite comes from Saint Augustine: “For Almighty God . . ., because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself.”  God in his infinite wisdom and power can make a greater good come out of any evil.  Think of it this way, when a small child has his tonsils removed, he doesn’t understand why he has to endure the pain of surgery.  However, his doctors and parents know that the short-term suffering caused by a tonsillectomy will lead to the greater good of better overall health. 

That brings us back to prayer.  We are God’s hands and feet; we are the instruments through which God can make good arise from any evil.  Prayer helps us understand God’s wisdom and fills us with God’s power.  Through prayer, we unite ourselves, our concerns and our needs with God and with each other.  In prayer, we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with God's eternal love so we can share it with others.  Prayer inspires us to do something.  So in times of tragedy, the very first thing we should do, the best thing we can do, is pray, because prayer leads us to an answer when all we can bear to ask is, “Now what?”

For those who may be looking for an answer to your “now what?” prayer, I contribute to Catholic Charities USA.  It’s a great boots-on-the-ground organization that cares for all people, regardless of religion or any other “category” you can think of, and 100% of contributions are going to those in need.  If you’re inspired to help animals, I contribute to Saint Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center.  This wonderful group took in Texas shelter dogs that were available for adoption prior to the hurricane so the Texas shelters could accommodate the animals that became homeless or displaced as a result of the hurricane, thus making it easier for owners and pets to be reunited.  The Meyers were so impressed with Saint Hubert’s, that part of the answer to our “now what?” prayer was adopting a three-month old, blind puppy re-named Homer (after the blind, Greek poet, not the bumbling cartoon character). 

That simple, two-word prayer opens our hearts to participation in God’s providential plan that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”  I think Homer would agree that our most important prayer this weekend was, “Now what?”, and I hope that the people who receive assistance from the countless volunteers and donations inspired by prayer feel the same.