FAITH HEALS IN TIMES OF UNIMAGINABLE PAIN

FAITH HEALS IN TIMES OF UNIMAGINABLE PAIN

The whole nation was shocked and deeply saddened by the news of four children being killed and more injured when a car mounted the sidewalk in a Sydney Suburb over the weekend.  Such a terrible and senseless tragedy. The faith and graciousness of the family even in the midst of unimaginable grief, is inspiring. As is, the support and prayers of so many.

I was also heartened to read in the Australian newspaper on Tuesday, an article which featured a beautiful reflection on the spiritual aspects of life in the face of such tragedies. It is refreshing to see this spiritual side featured in a secular newspaper. The sub-heading to this article rather insightfully notes that: “Personal loss is made more difficult by denying a spiritual sense of life.”

Here is an excerpt from the article by Australian Catholic University Senior Research Fellow, Kevin Donnelly:

One can only try to imagine the torment and loss being experienced by the Abdallah family having lost three children and one of their cousins. For parents to suffer in this way and for innocent children to be taken in such a senseless and random manner strikes one to the core.

One can only hope and pray that as the families affected are Maronite Christians, who attend the local Catholic Church, their faith and the love and support of their friends and family will assuage their loss and help them cope with what will be a tortuous journey. A journey, contrary to the glib comment about “closure”, that will be a long and trying one, testing their willingness and ability to cope with what at times will appear to be a living nightmare.

In an increasingly ego-driven, self-centred world, no matter how much we think otherwise, the real­ity is to be human is to be vulnerable and susceptible to pain and loss. To think we can escape this vale of tears is to mistakenly believe we control our own fate and the fates of those we love.

Life is inevitably fraught with tragedy, suffering and loss, and the challenge is how we deal with events that have the potential to unnerve and destroy. In an increasingly secular, post-Christian age the challenge is made more difficult by denying a spiritual and transcendent sense of life and what follows. Not surprisingly, Australia suffers from increasingly high rates of suicide, depression, self-harm and substance abuse.

Such is not the case for the Abdallah family and the other families touched by last weekend’s tragedy. All are members of their local Maronite Catholic Church and as their priest, Father Tony Sarkis, said: “We have been supporting the family since we heard the tragic news last night through our prayers and masses firstly and through our ongoing support.

“This heartbreaking event has touched the hearts of all the community and we ask everyone to continue to pray for the three families.”

While the loss and pain will never be erased, in prayer and communal grieving there is solace and comfort.

{From The Australian newspaper. Commentary by KEVIN DONNELLY. FEBRUARY 4, 2020. P. 39. “COMMENTS” section. Kevin Donnelly is a senior research fellow at the Australian Catholic University and author of Taming the Black Dog}