Jan Paul S. Lugtu 1. Sometimes in the face of tragedy, comes out hope.

I have been reflecting on the events in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City, where lots of innocent lives were lost because of the calamitous floods that swept the places that were once inhabited by communities. I have been tempted to ask why this evil catastrophe had to befall on people. And there is the temptation to ask if God, presuming he really exists, would allow such tragic event to happen. One may surmise that he does not exist because such a benevolent and benign deity would allow evil to dominate and extinguish whatever good that is remaining in the world. People may tend to deny the existence of God, who is unable to defeat and vanquish the seemingly wicked forces at work. For evil, it does exist, seems to have more dominion than goodness. Or, God would be the source of evil. But Saint Augustine believes evil does not exist as an independently existing reality, but as absence of goodness, a privation that does not have substantial being. And yet, evil really pervades our reality. Evil exists insofar as we believe in the reality of sin, a reality that is denied nowadays. And sin, is a consequence of mans abuse of his God-given freedom. Man, in his desire to seek to become his own god has created a monstrosity that came to be known as SIN. And sin, which has darkened peoples hearts, and has caused alienations in all its forms, has led to acts of wickedness that victimized, and still continue to victimize other lives. So, we cannot blame every tragedy to God, when it is by mens doing that led to countless lives lost. Yet, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. In the face of evil, people can still express the power of love through compassionate action and solidarity in helping others build their new lives from the ruins of death and destruction. And God would express His unfathomable love and goodness through such generous souls, because He perfectly understands what it means to suffer. He has suffered to see His Son suffer a damnable and ignominious death, but this was overcome by the power of love that transcended death, the power of resurrection. And this power of resurrection is still evident in the resurgence of hope in the lives of many people who have been able to overcome lifes tragedies. Let us pray for the eternal repose of the souls of those who died in this tragedy, understanding that God will grant them resurrection, and we also pray for the families left behind, that they may have the strength to rebuild their lives, and never lose hope in God who still continues to care for them. And may we allow ourselves to become Gods hands in touching the hearts of the people who have suffered much from this tragedy. 2. I was reading the story of Jesus healing the paralytic. This story was nothing new to offer, as I said to myself. I have come across this passage a couple of times already, and that I already heard it explained in countless Sunday homilies. But then, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I imagined how would the story would be like if I would be one of the characters in the story. So, I imagined myself as one of the antagonists who questioned Jesus authority to forgive sins. To my surprise, I realized that the paralytic in my imaginative rendering of the story was

my father, whose sickness was deemed as a deserving punishment for the sins he committed to me and my mother. Let me tell my own story. I used to hate my father because he had extramarital affairs, and these pained my mother, who loved him so much. And by the time my mother died of heart attack in 2004, I blamed my dad for her death. But when I contemplated on this passage, I realized that God had turned the tables on me. It is as if He was telling that I was the one who is in more need of healing because I was who had been carrying the burden of hatred. I was the real paralytic, who had failed to get up and walk, because I was the one who still carried the sin and guilt brought about by anger. I was the one who was really the one in need of healing and forgiveness. And once, I had finally accepted forgiveness and healing, I was then empowered to forgive my father. Going back to the story, I imagined myself, Jesus and my father having a heart-toheart talk. And in that imaginative contemplation, I saw myself embracing my father in tears, tears not of sorrow, but of joy. A joy that was brought about by forgiveness and healing. Now, I no longer nurse any bitterness against my father. Instead, what I feel is genuine love and concern for my father, and the desire to rebuild a relationship that was once almost destroyed by hatred.