Archbishop of Los Angeles: How to find God in the wildfires

My heart aches for so many of you who are suffering because of the forest fires that are still burning in the mountains and in the lands bordering the sea. These are days of tribulation for our great city and for the family of God who lives here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

From the first moment the firestorm hit, I offered a series of masses to pray for you, for our neighbors, and for the brave men and women who are working hard to put out these fires to keep us safe.

I experienced great grief as I met with those of you who have lost so much: your loved ones and your homes, your businesses and your livelihoods; their parishes, their schools and their neighborhoods. It saddens me deeply to see that there are thousands of Catholics in Los Angeles and other Angelenos who are living as refugees and expatriates within their own hometowns.

We are just beginning to perceive the magnitude of the destruction and cataclysm. These fires have reduced people’s material possessions and most precious memories to ashes, making their future uncertain. Officials say rebuilding could take years and many of our communities may never be the same again.

In times like these, it’s understandable that we might question God’s love for us, wondering where he is when good people are suffering. Why does God allow evil?

Why do you allow natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes, earthquakes and floods to occur? There are no easy answers, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.

Jesus taught us that God is our Father and that he holds all creation in his loving hands. He assures us that not a sparrow falls to the ground unless the Father allows it. And he reminds us later: You are worth much more than all the birds in the world.

Each and every one of you is of inestimable value to God. You are so valuable to him that he sent his only Son into the world to die on the cross for you. We need to hold on to this truth when difficulties and sufferings come.

Jesus knows our hopes, our dreams and our difficulties. He is close to us in our joys and in our sorrows.

His will for our lives has only one objective: that we grow in holiness and love and that we become holy and share his love here on earth, and then live eternally with him in heaven.

Everything that happens, everything he allows, always comes from his love for us and the desire he has for our salvation.

This answer is not easy to understand, but it is the truth.

The saints teach us that even if God himself cannot suffer, he does suffer with us.

This is the wonderful truth expressed on the cross. By dying and rising from the dead, Jesus showed us that God can bring good out of even the greatest evil.

And just as Jesus conquered death, our own sufferings can also find meaning and purpose when we unite them with his.

Every crisis is a crossroads, and in every crisis we have to make a decision.

We may respond to it with anger and despair, which is a natural temptation.

Or we can decide to accept our sufferings as a certain participation in the sufferings of Jesus, who suffers for us and with us and who will never abandon us no matter how dark the path may seem.

Even if we have been left with little, we still have the love we can give.

We can “offer” our sufferings in a spirit of love and sacrifice for our neighbors. We can make a gift of our lives to share the suffering of others, supporting them in their efforts.

Once again, the saints teach us that the sacrifices we make for others can bear fruit of love and compassion when we unite ourselves with the sufferings of Jesus. What we offer out of love becomes—in a mysterious way—part of that great treasure of compassion that flows from his sufferings on the cross.

Even in the midst of this firestorm, we can already see how the Lord raises up heroic witnesses.

I think of that family who prayed on their knees in the place where their house once stood, thanking God and Our Lady for having saved them; I think of the parishioners who risked their lives to put out the fire on the church roof; I think of the firefighters who rescued the tabernacle of a burning church.

We will hear more stories like this in the coming days. There will be a multitude of sacrifices of love that we will never hear about: all those hidden sacrifices of parents for their children, all those small, invisible acts of kindness that abound in our homes and in our communities.

Let us continue to help and support each other, let us continue to work together so that our neighbors realize the truth of God’s love in the midst of this hour of devastation and loss.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

And let us ask Our Blessed Mother to protect and guide us.

Our Lady, Queen of Angels: Be a mother to us all!

Editor’s note: This is a reflection written by Bishop José Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, in the face of the tragedy of the forest fires that have devastated southern California (United States). Originally published on Angelus News, reprinted

Editor’s Note: This reflection written by Archbishop José Gómez offers a moving message to his beloved community as Los Angeles begins to recover after many lost everything to the wildfires in Southern California. Originally published in Angelus Newsis reproduced here with permission.