Freedom: The Power to Love, the Power to Hurt

As we are all painfully aware, a horrible tragedy struck Newtown, Connecticut two days ago. As a teacher, and as a married man who one day hopes to have children, this tragedy struck particularly close to my heart. It struck even closer to my heart because I have been to Newtown several times and I have friends who live in Newtown, friends who I think of as family. And yet as painful as it was to hear about these things, I can't even imagine what the parents of those kids felt. My heart mourns for the 20 families, and the entire community, most closely affected by this tragedy.

It is tragedies like these that make our society question the Catholic notion of an All-Good, All-Powerful God. We see this kind of senseless violence, this loss of such beautiful innocent life, and the only reasonable question is: "Why?" Why did God allow this to happen? I have already seen people claiming that this was all a part of "God's master plan," making it seem like God not only allowed this to happen but actually willed it to happen. This is commonly known as the problem of evil. If God is all-good and all-powerful, why didn't He stop it from happening?

The only possible reason for these tragedies, the only adequate explanation (if one exists) is the human condition. As human beings we have a radical freedom that allows us to act harshly against one another. It is human beings who committed these acts by using this freedom. Our freedom allows us to choose between right and wrong. It is human freedom that has brought evil into our world. It is human beings who choose to harm one another. God never chooses to cause harm, he only tries to bring about good.

In His desire to bring about good, God has given us the gift of freedom. It is because of freedom that we are able to love. Without freedom, love would not be a possibility. And love is perhaps the most important aspect of life. St. Paul speaks beautifully about the importance of love in his First Letter to the Corinthians: "If I speak in human and angelic tongues--but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing." But it is this very gift that also provides us the opportunity to commit terrible atrocities.

Too often when faced with this type of pain,  we simply avoid the issue by saying, "Everything happens for a reason." This, however, is absurd and it is tragedies like this one that proves how absurd that saying is. I don't believe that there was a reason for the shooting at Columbine High School so many years ago. I don't believe there was a reason for the World Trade Center Attacks on September 11. I don't believe that there was a reason for the shootings in Aurora, Colorado earlier this year. I don't believe that there is a reason for this terrible tragedy. At least, not a Divine Reason.

I cannot tell you how much I despise this shirt!! It honestly makes me cringe, especially when good Christians push this as the truth. The truth is that God did not want this happen. He did not want the lives of so many of his beloved children to be cut tragically short. God did not allow this to happen because he wanted to get revenge. He didn't refuse to help those children because they don't talk about God in schools. In fact, he didn't refuse to help those children at all.

It may be difficult to see, it may be tough to believe, but God was right there with those kids. He was there in the midst of their suffering and their pain. He was there suffering along with them, suffering for them. He was there to try and console them and bring them peace. And he will be there for their families and friends now. He will be there to try and heal their hurts and their pains. He will be there to offer them his love and his grace and his mercy. He will pour out everything that he has for them because he is a Father and he knows what it is like to lose his only Son.

But grace does not work like Magic. God cannot heal their hearts unless they cooperate with His grace. He can offer them everything they could need to properly heal and if they are not aware of His love for them then they will not be able to accept his Love and Grace, they will not be able to experience the healing that He offers them. But God's love will not leave them. He will not stop trying to reveal Himself to them, He will not stop trying to heal them and bring them peace.

It wasn't God who hurt those children, it was a misguided a young man who was desperately in need of help. Could God have stopped him from hurting those kids? Not without taking away his freedom. God wanted that young man to choose love, but you cannot force love, you can only hope someone will choose it. And to live a life empty of love is to not live at all. Let us pray that we will come to a deeper understanding of freedom and a deeper understanding of human dignity!

This terrible tragedy reminded me of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. After that day, a woman who was at the theater posted a blog that I think is very applicable to this blog. Here is the Link!



God Love You!