Prayers: Nature's Wrath

Lord God Almighty,
Creator of the heavens and the earth
help me to understand and put into perspective
The terrifying tragedies, sufferings and deaths
caused by natural disasters.

I do not believe, as people did in times past,
that these calamities are brought down
on particular countries or communities
as Divine Vengeance against as modern-day
Sodom and Gomorrahs.

Rather I see them as reminders to all God's people
of Your power, Your wrath against general sins of the world and Your admonition that we not lay up for ourselves treasures here on earth, where the thief breaks
in and the moth consumes.

Let me always pray, dear God,
for the people affected
by these blows of Nature,
and let me be quick
to offer what aid and succor I can.

Let me understand these seemingly heartless
and inscrutable events in the perspective of eternity.
Those who suffer and those who die, may merit eternal life
through the particular salvific merit
of having endured and triumphed over these tragedies
while remaining faithful to You.

Let me not blame some cruel or wrathful deity
for I know that You love all your creatures
while Your ways, Lord, are mysterious
and cannot be fully comprehended by me in this life.

Certainly I can see that in time the fires are quenched,
the floods recede, the shaken buildings are repaired
and the plagues and long-suffering illnesses
come to an end.

I am confident that all sorrows
will be easily forgotten
if eternal happiness is gained.

Help me then, God, Master, Lord of the Universe,
to accept with grace the trials of my own life
as well as the abundant blessings You have bestowed on me.

I know that ultimately
all of us are always in Your constant loving care.
We will believe.
We will trust.
We will carry on.

One of the most memorable photographs I remember
from the flood not so long ago in New Orleans
was of an elderly smiling volunteer:
She was passing out groceries at a Red Cross station.
Her home had just been destroyed by the waters.
Help me have her confidence, her charity, and her faith.

I believe, Oh Lord. Help me in my unbelief.

Amen.

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