What about God's love in the face of natural disasters and death of innocent?

[r4j]

I hope this is the right spot for this question. I am a rock solid Catholic but there’s one thing I find I have weak knowledge about. When others ask me ‘if there’s a God, why are there natural disasters and thousands of people will die - so much destruction and death. Why will babies get cancer or leukemia and die.’
I have yet to find how a good source for understanding these events and thus responding to such inquiries.

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

Such people need to think outside of the box. They are thinking of God as just a bigger version of us. He is not!

Since He alone is the author of human life, He alone has the right to determine when and how He will call such life back to Himself. He is not subject to the moral laws He has set for us. In His wisdom He sees what we cannot see and knows what we cannot know.

As Job learned long ago, God’s questions are better than ours. Why do babies suffer with illness and die? Well, why are there babies at all? Why is there any creation? Why would He love His creatures enough to become one of them and then suffer and die on their behalf? Such love is beyond our ability to wrap our minds around. One thing we do understand is that He does a much better job of being God than we do. It is good to know our place.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.