Page 4 - HQ May June July 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic:

A punishment from God or a warning?

by Alain Pilote peared in China in a wet market ... shows the careless-
ness of men and the responsibility, in parentheses, of
We can discuss endlessly the causes of the a regime which has made lying a fashion and which
COVID-19 virus and the consequences of the response delayed an effective response from the public health
to the pandemic on peoples’ physical, economic and system. In short, there is no need to look very far to
psychological lives. The media ceaselessly speculates find a culprit for all these follies.
on these aspects, creating, among other things, a cli-
But that is not the question; it is not the question
mate of fear and demoralization. that the Apostles asked in the gospel of the day. The
One aspect which has been somewhat overlooked, question that the disciples asked Jesus was whether
and which is the source of much hope, is the spiritual or not the man born blind had received a divine pun-
point of view, that is, what meaning can we ascribe ishment. Was the blind man the one who sinned and
to this pandemic? Has God sent us a message? If so, therefore was born without sight? Because after all,
what is it? Should we view this experience as a pun- this man had done nothing to be born blind; he didn’t
ishment from God, or rather, a warning? sin in his mother’s womb! So, was it his parents who
It is said that God speaks to us through events. had committed sin and so God punished him?
With an event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, more Jesus’ answer is clear, and it is relevant today:
than half of the world’s population has been con- “Neither he nor his parents.” This means that what
fined at home and virtually all public Masses around happens to us is not a divine punishment. Let us listen
the world have been shut down. Both events are un- to what Jesus says: “It is so that the works of God may
precedented. be manifested in him”.
God shouts out to us in this way not for the pleas-
There you go. God did not create evil, God does
ure of punishing us or making us suffer, but as an elec- not want evil. But God can use evil to bring out a great-
tric shock, delivering a powerful warning and wake-up er good. This is what we celebrate during the Paschal
call to shake us from indifference and have us leave Triduum. We see that, of course, the absolute evil was
the path that leads to the abyss (see page 6). God is the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Innocent
good and does not want the death of the sinner; He that was put on a cross. From this abomination, God
wants him to repent and live. He loves us endlessly brought forth resurrection and eternal salvation for all
and does not want any of His children to become lost men. This is what is important to understand.
and go to hell. So while respecting our freedom, God
must sometimes, as a last resort, use extraordinary In an article from lifesitenews.com. John Horvat
events to awaken us. wrote:
Father Cantalamessa quoted St. Augustine in Most people have the wrong idea of God’s chas-
his homily on Good Friday, 2020: “Being supremely tisements. They see them almost as arbitrary acts.
good, God would not allow any evil in his works, un- They do not see them as a means to put things back
less in his omnipotence and goodness, he is able to in order. Our Lady of Fatima spoke of chastisements
bring forth good out of evil” (see page 7). God did not in this manner.
create the virus, but if he allows this virus to exist, it When society as a whole becomes iniquitous and
is so that ultimately a greater good will result: con- unrepentant, the only way to return to order is through
version and the salvation of souls which, otherwise, great tribulation for all. Saint Alphonsus clarifies the
would not have taken place. matter by saying, “God, being infinite goodness, de-
The following three texts expound further on this sires only our good and to communicate to us his own
point. Most Rev. Michel Aupetit, Archbishop of Paris, happiness. When he chastises us, it is because we
during his homily on March 22, 2020, the fourth Sun- have obliged Him to do so by our sins.”
day of Lent, commented on the gospel in which the Indeed, God desires our amendment more than
man blind from birth was healed (John 9, 1-41). we do. He chastises “not because He desires to punish
“Master, who sinned: him or his parents, so that us, but because He wishes to deliver us from punish-
he was blind?” This is the eternal question of who ment”. He has compassion for us by showing Himself
is guilty, whom can we call responsible. So who is “angry toward us, in order that we may amend our
guilty? We can see that the plagues that affect popula- lives, and that thus He may be able to pardon and save
tions are most of the time the consequences of men’s us”.
actions. This is obvious in the wars in which we kill Finally, in an article entitled, Is the coronavirus
each other... Likewise, this coronavirus, which ap- a punishment from God?, posted on March 29, 2020