Once, on a retreat at Boston College, I had the opportunity to share my faith with a small group of peers who, on the whole, were not very familiar with Catholicism. Respectfully, one of my friends pushed back against the idea of religion, asking why it was that poor countries tend to be more religious than rich countries.
I responded that at least part of the reason is that the poor have no way to escape asking the tough questions about life. When you don’t have many resources, you need to ask which ones you value most. When every day drags you down, you start to ask why you keep getting back up. Finally, when the reality of death is always present, you can’t avoid asking what awaits after death. It is only when people begin to ask these “big” questions that they begin to look for “big” answers, the kind God is the answer to. The poverty of the poor, therefore, provides an opportunity for God to break into the lives of those open to Him.
In the developed world, however, we can easily go day to day ignoring these fundamental human questions. We avoid asking what things we value most by obsessing over the new purchase we want to make. We dodge the question of life’s purpose by chasing our next promotion. Finally, we ignore the reality of death by hiding the dying in hospitals and the elderly in nursing homes. In consequence, we stuff our lives so full of things that don’t ultimately matter, that we become too busy to think seriously about the questions that really do matter, the questions that may allow God to start to break in.
It is for this reason that St. Thomas Aquinas, somewhat jokingly, suggests that it is really the poor and disadvantaged that receive God’s blessings and the rich and privileged that receive his greatest curse. The poor and afflicted naturally gravitate to their true fulfillment, found in God and open to everyone. The privileged, on the other hand, can easily pretend that they are content from the temporary highs they get from their products, job promotions, and independence that the poor were never offered.
Reflecting on the recent epidemic of the coronavirus, many see this as one of the greatest hardships our country has ever endured. Undoubtedly it is. The destruction of people’s livelihoods, the emotional tax of isolation, and the death of loved ones all are happening at unimaginable rates. As Christians, however, it is important that we remind ourselves that of all “the sufferings of this present time” none of them are greater, triumph over, or are even “worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).
This is possible because we are not made to be ultimately fulfilled by a good career, good times with friends, or even our spouse and children. Although many of these goods are some of the greatest life can offer, we all know they always leave us just a bit empty inside. This is because man is meant for God alone. During this time of hardship, then, let us take it as an opportunity to change our perspective. Just as God can use the poverty of the poor to orient them towards what is most important in life, let us allow this present suffering to help us take a break from the rat-race and allow God to break into our lives in new ways.
Finding ourselves with uncertain futures, God is possibly inviting us to read the Scriptures with childlike trust in the Father, just as Jesus Who had “nowhere to lay his head” did (Lk. 9:58). Forcing families together into their houses, God is possibly inviting us to examine more closely how well we love our families. Finally, in giving us abundant free time, God possibly wants us to examine what aspects of our life we have been ignoring while pursuing things we weren’t interested in anyway. The call is undoubtedly different for all of us. Since “to them that love God, all things work together unto good,” we know that if we give God our cooperation, He will make us better for having experienced this terrible time (Rom 8:28). God has a plan for us, He knows what situation we are in, and He is calling us to be saints this very moment. Let each of us, then, take some time aside to ask, “How God is calling each of us to cooperate His grace and bring some good fruit into our hearts from this time of distress?”
Featured image courtesy of The State Russian Museum via WikiMedia
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Mr. DeAngelis, your interpretation of our times is greatly insightful. I am shocked to have found such a strong answer to the dichotomy of faith in developed and poor countries. I affirm your statements that the materially poor are rich in true values. I can see that you are relying on the work of Fr. William J. O’Malley’s “Meeting the Living God,” when you state that modern people are to preoccupied in their employment “rat-race.”