Calamity can lead to Victory
We just need to learn, and do, the practices that lead out of present distress into thanksgiving.
Covid apparently is still a thing. My wife and contracted it a couple of weeks ago, after what was for us a long and stressful summer bringing a number of insurance-claim construction matters to their conclusion. The work was very well done: we were blessed to find contractors who did brilliant work, treating our home as though it were theirs. Though I doubt we “found” them: I think they were brought to us.
It’s easy to overlook the many and varied ways God provides for us, especially when we are in the thick of it. We pray for solutions, and we get more problems. Isn’t this the way we grow in patience? Isn’t this the way we learn to cast our cares upon the Lord, as St. Peter advises us to do, himself echoing the Psalms?
I’m sure you’ve found that in response to your own prayer to be a more loving person, you have found yourself in the presence of unloving people or unlovable situations; or that in praying for better health, more challenges arise; or in praying for successful business and financial outcomes, greater financial stresses present themselves.
God answers our prayers by placing us in situations in which we have to rely utterly upon Him, and in which we have to develop more virtue.
“Virtue” is a common theme in Catholic writing, and sometimes, let’s be honest, it can be a little annoying. It’s easy for others, and even for ourselves, to reason, well, John is having this problem because he lacks virtue in this area. Greater foresight — like the foresight I possess — would have prevented this problem from developing. Yes, one of the besetting vices of the virtuous is self-righteousness — a self-righteousness that is entirely unattractive, and one of the principle reasons so many people are repulsed by practicing Catholics.
I would suggest at this point an honest reading of the Book of Job. Sometimes problems arise because of lack of foresight and proper planning: a lack of prudence leads to lacks in justice, temperance, and fortitude. But then consider the mystery of Job. He was a righteous man, pious in his affairs, careful to honor God in all his doings. He was, the book tells us at the outset, what would be considered a virtuous man. Calamity hit nonetheless: God allowed satan to strike him. Why God did is one of the central themes — mysteries — of the book, and I won’t spoil your reading by sharing my interpretation of it: it is one of the greatest books of the entire Bible, and indeed of world literature, and every Christian should know its story well.
Normally when calamity strikes, we sit down and make plans as to how to resolve them. The calamity forces us to consider where prior planning failed, and perhaps for entirely innocent reasons. It doesn’t matter how calamity came: it has come, and it must be faced. So if we’ve been in or around the military, or read the books about the SEALS, we’ve learned to lean into it, “embrace the suck,” and get on with it.
That’s a good start, generally, but it isn’t good enough. The proper response to calamity, as to every gift — you read that correctly —, is thanksgiving. If calamity has come, God is allowing it for a purpose we may or may not know, and which we may or may not know in this life. Calamity presents an opportunity to go much deeper in our faith, to foster greater hope in the present power of God to save, and to foster greater love by fostering greater gratitude for the helps that the Lord sends in order to resolve the calamity. It also presents an opportunity to for us to develop natural virtue guided, as it were, by the supernatural virtues and, preeminently, by the Holy Spirit, who offers us the graces we need for every situation we face. That is to say, calamity offers us the possibility that our natural virtues be perfected by the action of the Holy Spirit, who activates both the supernatural and natural virtues. As Augustine reminded us, God, who created us without us, will not save us without us: our participation in the work of redemption is required: the requirement is just, because God enables the participation through direct and indirect action on our behalf, to which we can respond. He asks that we respond to His initiative by responding to the demands of our lives.
God dwells in the praises of His people. This great principle is taught in Psalm 22, which Christians read as a messianic prophecy of the Crucifixion of the Lord. Christ on the Cross is praising the Father. Christ on the Cross is routing sin and death. Christ on the Cross is suffering.
If you are suffering — or better, wherever it is in your life that you are suffering — the first response is to thank the Lord for it. I know this sounds crazy. But I also know that it is much easier to “embrace the suck” if we give thanks for the pain.
The next step is to ask God to send help that shows how to resolve the calamity. God will answer this prayer swiftly. Please note that we may not like the answer, and also note that a typical human response to an answer we don’t like is to claim that God has not sent help. Give yourself points for honesty if you smiled when you read that last sentence.
Help comes in the form of insight or inspiration. Help comes from other people, too, sharing their wisdom, experience, and confidence. Help may even come from the angels, those ministering spirits God has appointed for the praise of his glory and the assistance of the human race. Give yourself a point if you agree, and deduct five if you smile sardonically.
The help the angels bring can be very practical in nature. Consider the Book of Tobit. The book lays out very practical concerns, and it presents people of great faith acting with great faith, including acting in accord with directions given by the angel Raphael whom Tobias knows as Azarias. Some of Raphael’s counsel was spiritual in nature, about how to deal with demons. We forget that like Job and like the Sarah of Tobit, demons sometimes mess with us. We shouldn't. There are means to repel their attacks and we should use them. One of the principle means is obedience. Some of Raphael’s counsel was about getting married properly, a very earthly affair and a very urgent task. Tobias’ and Sarah’s obedience to that direction led to victory, and it led to great rejoicing.
Where are you suffering? Where have you resisted counsel or help? What pain have you buried? Let the Lord know that you thank him for this pain and you seek his deliverance and salvation for you in this area. Then be ready for the help that arrive, and be ready to act in accord with the help. The Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that many have entertained angels unawares. They are ministering spirits, meant to do battle for us, to help us conduct our own battles by providing wisdom and direction, and to lead us to glory, in this life and the next. Help really is on the way. Take it when it comes.