Fr. Paneloux’s
admonition to the
suffering congregation
was direct and clear:
‘Calamity has come
on you, my brethren,
and…you deserved it.’
The horrors of the
plague were, like
the biblical Exodus,
divine judgment.
God had ‘grown
weary with waiting’
for them to surrender
their lives to him.
(Albert camus fools
the response of
The priest and preacher) .
I like to ponder overThose beautiful momentsOf sweet innocence.The shine in your eyes,The trembling lips in loveThe colour of your faceAnd the telling gestures of your handsAnd the movements of your limbsI love to paint in my soulThose wonderful momentsOf pure and innocent love.
for the mentalhealth of thosewho have beenvictimized.It drives peopleforward ratherthan keepingthem emotionallyengaged in aninjustice or trauma.
of matter and natural laws.He is Who He is;He is all we needand in Him, we liveand move andhave our being.He is our Peaceand our Hope;He is our Providerand Protector;He is Life and Light;He is Shepherdand Shield and inHim is Salvation.In Him are the wordsof eternal life,for He alone can claim,„I am Alpha and Omega,…
It is you who give us victory.It is your mighty arm that saves us.In your power and intelligenceyou lead us through valleysand hills to fight against our enemies.We take bold steps and jump up,for you are there with usin front and at the backto keep us safe and bringbring us back home safe and sound.
The answer is yes and no.Where logic and rationalityare foremost, in theconceptual level,it may admit of doubtbecause this experienceis so unrelated to reasonas to seem perhaps irrational.
You can see thatit is cherished in everyspiritual tradition.We come to the realizationthat all relationshipsare simply and clearlya relationship with God.
