Finding Meaning in Misery

Why is there so much evil, so much misery in the world? Natural and man-made calamities! All bring unwanted sufferings and even tragic death. Why? Why? There is no satisfactory explanation. Evil is a high mystery. It cannot be fully fathomed. It is almost impenetrable. But the Catholic faith attempts to explain and find meaning in this misery. It goes back to the story of creation. According to the story God created a perfect world. A Paradise. He “… looked at everything he made and found it very good.” (Gen. 1:31) But man was driven out of Paradise. Why?

Deeply planted in the depth of man’s being is the strong sense of right and wrong, and inherent in man is his freedom of choice, the source of his sainthood, but also of his perdition. In the exercise of that freedom he knowingly, voluntarily, and explicitly rejected God by disobeying His command. Sin entered the world. Sin badly corrupted the heart of man. He becomes greedy. This greed, so insatiable, results to the exploitation of the weak by the strong. Now he is smearing the world with his evil deeds, causing misery to both man, plants, animals, and to the whole environment. This explains, at least for the faithful, why there is much misery in the world.

Greed is manifested in several ugly and disastrous forms. Corruption! War! Terrorism! Drugs! All bring misery, in one way or another. No structure or fabric of the society is insulated from greed. Government institutions: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary, all are riddled with greed. Even the Education Department and religious institutions, supposed to be the cradles of good values, are not exempted.

Greed has also corrupted the heart of man in the production, preservation and preparation of foods. Due to indiscriminate use of chemicals, they are finding their way to dining tables, insidiously ruining the health of man. Majority of canned goods, quick-cooking and ready to eat foods in the supermarkets and various outlets are loaded with chemicals. Cows, pigs, chicken and other livestock are injected and fed with chemicals.

In the olden days when chicken were raised organically, they were not ready for the caldron until after six months they were hatched. But the insatiable desire of the providers for profit cannot wait that long. So large amounts of chemicals are applied (fed or injected) and after thirty five days they are ready for the grills. Vegetables are no exemption. They are sprayed with chemicals to protect them from pests. Tilapia, bangus and hito are also raised inorganically. Indeed greed is compounding the evil and misery in the world.

Dr. Don Colbert, author of “The Bible Cure for High Cholesterol”, observes that “America’s obsession with fast food–including cheese-burger, fried chicken, tacos, French fries–has led to widespread obesity and health problems.” The November 12, 2008 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, reports the result of a survey which says that 20% of adult Filipinos are diabetics. Compared to a decade ago, more Filipino children are now at the risk of contracting diabetes due to growing cases of childhood obesity. Death due to diabetes may alarmingly rise to 17% within 10 years.

Why do we continue to indulge on foods that are literally killing us? Because these foods have become addictive. Food companies hire brilliant chemists to see to it that we continue to crave for these foods. They are also marketed on TVs, magazines and billboards, reinforcing their addictive taste. Their health values are never the primary concern of the providers. What is paramount is that they rake huge profit. Greed has indeed dominated the heart of man.

What can purify the heart of man? What can replace greed with love? Were this easy it would have been done long ago. The Christian faith offers a way, but it is constricted, thorny and slippery. Only the imitation of the love of Christ, profoundly expressed on the cross, can purify the heart of man. Christ died that others may live. This was literally imitated by Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, now a saint. In the German concentration camp, he volunteered to be executed in the place of a family man. Being made in the image of God, each has the ability to do similarly, perhaps on a much lesser scale.

The Department of Education, the Church and the home, cradles of good values, have vital and critical roles in the purification of the heart of man. But these institutions badly need continuous purification. They are not exempted from the clutches of greed. It is a herculean task that man is unable to accomplish on his own. He must continue to pray fervently for enlightenment, strength and perseverance. Prayer can do miracles. As St. Paul admonished, we must pray unceasingly. Uniting our suffering with that of Christ for the conversion of the world, our misery becomes meaningful. (Morito C. Parcon)