what to do in the face of life's tragedies?

In the face of certain misfortunes ... it is no good to blame the victims. What is truly wise, rather, consists in allowing oneself to be questioned by the precariousness of existence and to adopt an attitude of responsibility: to do penance and improve our lives.

"precariousness of existance"

Oh how true! The more medicine I do, the most I realise that life is truely a gift; like a beautiful flower, oh so precious and delicate, and not guaranteed to see tomorrow. If we do see tomorrow, it is because have been given the gift of seeing tomorrow, so let us not waste it!

"improve our lives"

Let us not allow sin to chain us down and reduce us from the what we are meant to be!

Christ invites us to respond to evil first of all through a serious examination of conscience and with the commitment to purify our lives.





In fact, people and societies that live without questioning themselves have ruin as their only final end.





Conversion, on the contrary, despite the fact it does not preserve us from problems and adversities, enables us to address them in a different 'way.'




"bad things happen to good people" -- but 'good people' response to them in a different way...in a way which has been illuminated by Christ, and by knowing that He loves us, and by knowing that there is a life prepared for us beyond this one.


Above all it helps to prevent evil, and to neutralize some of its threats. And, in any case, it enables us to overcome evil with good, though not always at the level of events -- which at times are independent of our will -- certainly always at the spiritual level.





In short, conversion overcomes evil at its root, which is sin, though it cannot always avoid its consequences.





To do penance and correct our conduct is not simply moralism, but rather the most effective way to improve both ourselves as well as society.





it is better to light a match than to curse the darkness.



Oh wow! That last sentence is so deep!
For me it reminds me how I should focus less on complaining about the disastarous immoral state of society ('the darkness'), and instead focus more on being what Christ wants me to be, so that, through me, He can be the light in the darkness!




Seriously, how can one not love Pope Benedict?!
(this document was taken from his Sunday address from today)

Of course, all this is easier said than done.

Accepting one's own death is 'easy'...untill you know it is near. and then it is a lot more scary.

St. Thomas Acquinas said that accepting one's own death is the perfection of the virtue of courage.

Sorry to be depressing and talk about death, but it is the one certainly in life, and it's a bit foolish to live life conveniently forgetting that one day we will die and will have to account for what we've done now. Let's try our hardest to live our lives as best we can right now, constantly aiming to do God's will in all things.

God Bless

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