A GRIPPING HAND AMIDST THE SUFFERING

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

-Psalm 127: 1

As I put my youngest daughter down for her afternoon nap, I became cognizant of her little and tender hands. Most naps are usually pleasant and genuinely peaceful. Yet, as my daughter scuffled to crawl into a fetus position, she became belligerent, determined to let even the untucked bedsheets and padded, queen-sized mattress know she was not ready to rest. The surrounding environment was set. The shades were drawn down, the sound machine was on, and the fan was blowing to diffuse any sound emanating from the streets. Her demeanor quaked “I’m tired but I need something else.” Only by me laying next to her, embracing her, holding her little hand was she reassured that napping was warranted. Finally, silence ensued.

Moments such as these are beautiful reminders of how God listens to His innocent children and their needs. In the book of Genesis, in the midst of being outcasted by Sarah and Abraham, Hagar wonders for the safety of her son Ishmael. Her biggest fear was to see Ishmael die in the desert before her eyes. While Hagar sinks into her own despair, Ishmael reacts to his own fears, and begins to weep for his mother’s comfort. While some Biblical translations make it unclear as to whose’s despair God responds to, the messenger of God (an angel) seems to desire to comfort the outcry of little Ishmael. Still, Hagar is asked to not be afraid because God understands that by instilling peace into Hagar’s motherly instinct, she will be prompted to embrace her little son and bring him comfort. This is how the scene plays out:

So, she put the child down under a shrub, and then went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away; for she said to herself, ‘Let me not watch to see the child die.’ As she sat opposite Ishmael, he began to cry. God heard the boy’s cry, and God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven: ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Don’t be afraid; God has heard the boy’s cry in this plight of his. Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink. God was with the boy as he grew up.[1]

The world today mourns the tragedy that has happened in north-central Venezuela at the verge of two consecutive earthquakes destroying regions such as La Guaira, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, and Caracas-the country’s capital. In the midst of tens of thousands of people missing and now presumed dead, Psalm 34 reminds us that the Lord hears the cry of the poor and intervenes during their afflictions.[2] Because God is our Divine Physician par excellence, God never forsakes our needs especially when his innocent children cry out to Him. Circulating videos in social media visibly report the destruction Venezuela has experienced after the devastating earthquakes. However, hundreds of videos are also documenting incredible miracles that tangibly show that God is present and answering the cries of the little ones. Newborns days old are being pulled safely alongside with their mothers; younger siblings have been pulled from the shambles after older siblings survive long enough for rescuers to get to them; people trapped petition rescuers not to risk their lives because earthquake aftershocks make the environment unsafe; rescuers have been caught on camera asking God for protection during their search, and immediately after their prayer, a beautiful Bible is found intact in their path; a family was caved in and was caught on video asking God to lead rescuers to a specific spot that later became their point of exit; a statue of the Virgin Mary rises from the debris literally unscathed. These are documented stories which attest the incredible miracles God is revealing in real time.

The most daunting yet beautiful imagery that continues to surface in social media from these catastrophic earthquakes in Venezuela are the reports of how many children have died holding their loved ones’ hands. Even in fleeting moments, a comforting hand is the most reverent gift a little soul can receive from their mother or father. It instills a hope that is beyond our understanding and it deepens the mystery of redemptive suffering[3] amongst the chaos. The Manual for Suffering describes this kind of hope in a grace-filled way:

Hope compels us to look for God’s providence, implore the help of his grace, and pine for his workings in our world today. Hope edifies us, enlarges our efforts, and elevates our spirits…. hope breaks free and reorients us to yearn for happiness with God, to an eternity that heals our fallenness, redeems our suffering, allows us to be fully alive, and empowers us to yearn for a perpetual dwelling place with God. [4]

The holding of hands by our loved ones ought to become a gripping symbol to the world as to the power of hope. It reaffirms that even though the of sting death is imminent, we must surrender to the will of God in our future resurrected bodies.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we pray for the outcry of the little ones in Venezuela. May you rescue and tend the needs of the poor and innocent especially those who firmly implore your Most Holy Name in the midst of the chaos. Let us dare to hope and trust in your protection as we grip firmly to the consolation of your loving hands amidst the suffering. Press your embrace against us as we take our final breath and let our death, if it be your Holy Will, be precious among your eyes. And remind us lovingly that:

Hope is not trust in our own powers, abilities, or capacities to change things or to make them better, or make them into what we want them to be…hope is the virtue that helps us realize our limitations, restrictions, weaknesses, and brokenness. It shows us the marks and bruises of a fallen world and a sinful humanity. Hope calls us outside of ourselves and points us to the power and wisdom of God.[5]

Amen.

[1] Genesis 21: 17-20
[2] Psalm 34: 16, 18
[3] Redemptive Suffering is the Catholic teaching that suffering, when freely united to the suffering of Jesus Christ, can become a means of grace for oneself and for others. It does not mean that Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross was insufficient. Rather, it means that Christians are invited to participate in His one perfect sacrifice by offering their own sufferings in union with Him.
[4] Manual for Suffering, p. 26
[5] Manual for Suffering, p. 23, 26

"Thou knowest, O my God, that it is neither from ambition nor the love of glory that I make war on the enemies of Thy name, but in order to strike terror into those that blaspheme it."

-St. Ferdinand III of Castile