Those who don’t believe in God, atheists, sometimes use death, suffering, and evil to justify their lack of belief. They say, “A good God wouldn’t allow all this suffering and pain, especially in the tragic death of a young innocent child.” However, the first reading teaches us differently (Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24). As we hear Wisdom say, “God does not make death nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living… But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.”
Adam and Eve lived in a beautiful garden where all their needs were met, and they did not have to work, suffer, or die. Furthermore, they had a personal and intimate friendship with God who regularly moved around in the garden in the “breezy part of the day.” Since the devil no longer had this kind of relationship, he was envious. His successful temptation led to the sin of Adam and Eve which brought about the sin and evil we see all around us. Still, we know God didn’t give up on the human race. He sent Jesus. In today’s gospel (Mark 5:21-43), we see our Lord restoring health and life to those suffering physical evil in this world. He wants to do the same to us, curing the spiritual evil (sins) in our life and leading us to eternal life.
Let us pray for the grace to remain faithful to God in resisting the devil’s temptations and turn back through the sacrament of Confession when we fail. For Jesus will never fail us.
- Father Carl
“Do your work, not in order to grow rich or to
win the approval of men, but for God’s sake.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars
