In the midst of COVID-19, have you been wondering how we are to find God amid the suffering that is on-going? Father Bob Longobucco, vicar general and pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Schenectady, addresses just such a question, posed to him on Facebook. You’ll find his hopeful and helpful answer below.
FB question: Father Bob, may I ask you a question publicly? I think your answer may help a lot of people thinking the same things but afraid to ask. How are we to understand God in times when we see innocent dying? Are we to accept the will of God and flow like water with the changes or pray for him to intervene and have hope that this situation will be solved?
Father Bob Longobucco: Wow, that is a lot, and something I’m sure we all think about. My first thought is that God hates sickness and death. He came to defeat it. So to find God at a time like this is take comfort in eternal life and the mercy God has shown us.
My second thought is that we have this wonderful ability to pray for each other. Connected by the Holy Spirit, we are really present to one another and present before the face of God. Finally, God always finds a way to work through the darkest situations as the light of the world. I am sure you can see it in the new ways we are finding community. In the closeness we now have with our families. And in the solidarity we have for one another.
My simplest answer is this: where we find love in the mist of all this, is where we will find God.