“Grieving triggers a range of spiritual questions. We ask why ‘this’ happened to us. Why did it happen now? We want to know why we must endure such anguish and how long must we suffer.

When our security is threatened, it’s not unusual to begin a dance with God. We bargain that we will do something if God does something for us. If we don’t get what we want, emotions may turn to anger. We blame God for the evil done by human beings or for not preventing bad things from touching us. We think God did not answer our prayer, when in reality our answer came but differed from our expectations.” – Excerpt from “Grieving with Mary”

Bad things happen to good people. We can guess why this is so, but no one can know for sure. Some say it is punishment for our failings. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned by those involved or those who observe the event. God may want to get our attention, offer an opportunity to become a better person, or prompt us to grow closer to God. The event or circumstance may be a teaching “moment” for us to assist others who go through similar situations. Maybe it is the fallout from the evil in the world that randomly affects some people. Or this pain simply may be part of the human condition in a human world.

The only thing we can no for certain is that we are not perfect or perfectly good. Jesus is perfect, and yet Jesus suffered, terribly. Why wouldn’t we too?

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Grieving with Mary is available from Amazon and ACTA Publications.

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For a fun and interesting read, check out “When Live Entertainment Was It.”