Why Would God Allow a Holy Site to be Harmed?

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JoshuaDurham

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First of all I would like to say I am praying for all those affected by what happened in Lourdes. For those who have died, I pray God grants them eternal rest.

One thing one of my only two Catholic friends in college said is that as soon as news spread people would ask ''Why would God allow such a place to suffer a flood?" Low and behold it happened very soon after among our fellow students and parents. I think it is disgusting that they would take this tragedy and turn it into anti-Catholic propaganda so I would like to know what we should say to such a question? What is the official stance of the Church on such matters?

God Bless
 
I recommend perusing the Catechism for the keyword “suffering.” You generally won’t see the Church always explaining “why” every event occurs. Suffering itself is a mystery. What we have is Christ’s example of accepting suffering on the Cross, and showing that glory followed this. Though we may not understand the ultimate value or purpose of some suffering, we know that this age is not the final word. Thus, suffering in a temporal age cannot be the ultimate measure of a God’s goodness when compared to an eternal glory gained through it.

If this age were the last word, then it would seem that suffering is meaningless and how can God allow it. We have vague parallels here on earth. A father may spank a small child who puts himself in danger. The child may not understand why the father put him through the pain. Yet the father understands that the child must learn to avoid certain dangers. Although this analogy is but a shadow of what may occur with God, we place our faith and trust in Christ who first showed the way of suffering, that there is a value for us pilgrim children here on earth.

None of this makes suffering go away, lest one is the greatest saint with the greatest faith, which I am not. But we can still believe and trust God as best we can.
 
It is all going to pass away at the end of time.

The Vatican. Peter’s seat. Jesus’ tomb. The Sea of Galillee where Jesus walked on water. Lourdes. Fatima. London. Paris. Tokyo. New York…

All of it will be gone, and recreated.
 
JoshuaDurham said:
First of all I would like to say I am praying for all those affected by what happened in Lourdes. For those who have died, I pray God grants them eternal rest.

One thing one of my only two Catholic friends in college said is that as soon as news spread people would ask ''Why would God allow such a place to suffer a flood?" Low and behold it happened very soon after among our fellow students and parents. I think it is disgusting that they would take this tragedy and turn it into anti-Catholic propaganda so I would like to know what we should say to such a question? What is the official stance of the Church on such matters?

God Bless
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The rain falls where it falls. Lourdes is downstream from mountains, and the snow melts and then it rains at the same time, and there are floods. This has nothing to do with the holy site of Lourdes. What, did they expect that God would intervene and keep the Grotto completely dry while the town flooded or something? :rolleyes: Or just that there would be no more flooding? Even sillier.

This is not a paradise and not even particularly friendly toward humans in most places.

You should show them the videos that Lourdes puts out, although they are in French - they show how the priests there are grateful for prayers even in the midst of the flood. They never lose their composure and are always thanking God for his mercies.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
The rain falls where it falls. Lourdes is downstream from mountains, and the snow melts and then it rains at the same time, and there are floods. This has nothing to do with the holy site of Lourdes. What, did they expect that God would intervene and keep the Grotto completely dry while the town flooded or something? :rolleyes: Or just that there would be no more flooding? Even sillier.

This is not a paradise and not even particularly friendly toward humans in most places.

You should show them the videos that Lourdes puts out, although they are in French - they show how the priests there are grateful for prayers even in the midst of the flood. They never lose their composure and are always thanking God for his mercies.
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God allowed the Temple to be destroyed in AD 70. and several times before that.🤷
 
LegoGE1947 said:
No “site” holier than that!!👍
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Absolutely. 🙂

I think the post below makes an excellent point.
TimothyH said:
It is all going to pass away at the end of time.

The Vatican. Peter’s seat. Jesus’ tomb. The Sea of Galillee where Jesus walked on water. Lourdes. Fatima. London. Paris. Tokyo. New York…

All of it will be gone, and recreated.
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Well look at Jerusalem thru history…

We should never worship a place, even a sacred place.

We worship only God. Period.
JoshuaDurham said:
First of all I would like to say I am praying for all those affected by what happened in Lourdes. For those who have died, I pray God grants them eternal rest.

One thing one of my only two Catholic friends in college said is that as soon as news spread people would ask ''Why would God allow such a place to suffer a flood?" Low and behold it happened very soon after among our fellow students and parents. I think it is disgusting that they would take this tragedy and turn it into anti-Catholic propaganda so I would like to know what we should say to such a question? What is the official stance of the Church on such matters?

God Bless
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LegoGE1947 said:
I’m hoping for the end of human stupidity, especially mine!😊
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:confused:

Please don’t be so unkind to yourself. Please. I was simply agreeing that all will pass away, all of our sacred places, even the places where our Lord Himself was born, lived, worked, walked, died. He Himself was put to death. God allowed that, so He will allow destruction of any place on earth, any place period.
 
Marie5890 said:
Well look at Jerusalem thru history…

We should never worship a place, even a sacred place.

We worship only God. Period.
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America seems to worship Wall Street. Also ABC,CBS, Fox, NBC, CNN, C-SPAN, NFL, NBA, MLB etc
 
JoshuaDurham said:
…I think it is disgusting that they would take this tragedy and turn it into anti-Catholic propaganda so I would like to know what we should say to such a question?
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I find it interesting that when some terrible natural disaster devastates a city like New Orleans or New York, christians will come out of the woodwork and say things along the lines of “God is punishing them for (fill in the thing they don’t like)”. But it’s never a sign when Lourdes floods or earthquake destroys Christchurch Cathedral or Touchdown Jesus gets struck by lightning.

Why, in this case, is it just nature and not God?
 
This almost sounds like a specialized version of “The problem of evil.” Wouldn’t some of the arguments against the PoE also be applicable here?
 
Sparkythedog said:
I find it interesting that when some terrible natural disaster devastates a city like New Orleans or New York, christians will come out of the woodwork and say things along the lines of “God is punishing them for (fill in the thing they don’t like)”. But it’s never a sign when Lourdes floods or earthquake destroys Christchurch Cathedral or Touchdown Jesus gets struck by lightning.

Why, in this case, is it just nature and not God?
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Are you serious or just trolling? If you are serious, you need to make Christian/Catholic friends, and to be more skeptical about what you read in the media.
 
Sparkythedog said:
I find it interesting that when some terrible natural disaster devastates a city like New Orleans or New York, christians will come out of the woodwork and say things along the lines of “God is punishing them for (fill in the thing they don’t like)”. But it’s never a sign when Lourdes floods or earthquake destroys Christchurch Cathedral or Touchdown Jesus gets struck by lightning.

Why, in this case, is it just nature and not God?
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I don’t know what other Christians believe, but here is a Q&A that might help you understand the Catholic view of consequences, loss and suffering.

"How can I make emotional sense out of suffering when it happens?​

Full Question
My husband and I have been involved with the Word Faith Movement. I have become disillusioned with their theology of suffering. I know the Scripture verses that show we are to expect suffering in this life, but how can I make emotional sense out of suffering when it happens?

Answer

…Bearing these facts in mind, sometimes God permits suffering to keep us from a greater suffering later or to preserve us for a greater good. For example, you might be passed over for a seemingly great job opportunity, only to get a better one later. Or God may know a danger lurking in the job environment that could bring you physical or spiritual harm. Trusting in God helps us deal with this kind of suffering."…

…Sometimes God permits us to suffer the consequences of our behavior. …

…God may allow suffering that has no apparent reason–a child dies, we are injured in a car accident, or a natural disaster strikes. These situations are the most difficult to understand. Yet though we do not see the reason for such suffering we know that there is one, even if it is not apparent from our limited perspective. "…

Answered by: Jan Wakelin

Blue excerpts above taken from entire Q&A here: catholic.com/quickquestions/how-can-i-make-emotional-sense-out-of-suffering-when-it-happens
 
Colossians 3: 1-2
3 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 [a]Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

1 John 2: 15
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Nothing on this earth is more important than the Lord our God. That’s how I take that. Not structures, not miraculous sites, not anything on Earth.
 
Aloysium said:
Are you serious or just trolling? If you are serious, you need to make Christian/Catholic friends, and to be more skeptical about what you read in the media.
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It’s an honest question. The OP referred to non christians using a tragedy to spread anti-Catholic propaganda. I was just pointing out that christians do the same thing. Not all do but some very vocal ones do. I’m not accusing you or anyone else here of doing it, I’m just pointing it out.
 
Sparkythedog said:
It’s an honest question. The OP referred to non christians using a tragedy to spread anti-Catholic propaganda. I was just pointing out that christians do the same thing. Not all do but some very vocal ones do. I’m not accusing you or anyone else here of doing it, I’m just pointing it out.
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“Only the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception has escaped unscathed.”

In so many times of catastrophes holy things miraculously escaped destruction… I’m not very sure it is the case at Lourdes, but not everything is lost.
 
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