TLDR: Just because it is hotter than hades, it doesn’t mean that the end of the world is near. God is in control and this is a temporary affliction.
The expression “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it” has been attributed both to Mark Twain and his good friend Charles Dudley Warner (they co-authored the satirical novel The Gilded Age in 1873.) Sadly, the phrase does not appear in any of their writings, and we have no conclusive proof that either man ever said it. But on days like today, with temperatures in the 100’s, many of us are talking about the weather. Just a few days ago we broke a record for the hottest day in July in Houston in recorded history. The whole area was in triple digit territory and Austin registered a whopping 110 degrees. With record temperatures, severe droughts, January sixth hearings, frequent mass shootings, inflation in the 9% range, a depressed stock market, and the mid-term election approaching, it almost feels as though we are being visited by the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. This vision of the four horsemen has been seen by many authors as the harbingers of the end of days, a time of judgement on the whole earth.
I compare our current troubles to these horsemen only in jest, but the fact remains that many of us are deeply worried about our country and our world. I share some of these concerns. Our country is in serious need of reconciliation, renewal, and peace. Please join me in praying for our nation and our own state over the next few weeks. I must confess that I am also quite worried about the nation of my birth. Just a few weeks ago, Colombia elected a new president who will take office on August 7, 2022. Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (Known as Petro) was a member of the famous guerrilla movement known as the “19th of April Movement” or the M-19, when he was just 17 years of age. The M-19 became a political party in 1991 and Petro was elected to the nation’s Chamber of Representatives. In 2006 he became a Senator, running under the Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA). He failed in his bid for the presidency in 2010 and 2018, but won on June 17, 2022. Mr. Petro has a mixed record on Venezuela and many accuse him of being a Maduro sympathizer. He once called former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, “A great Latin American leader.” He campaigned on a green platform, speaks a great deal about renewable energy production, and has been a rather progressive politician on women’s health. On the other hand, he often speaks about a redistribution of wealth, agrarian reforms, tax increases, and other proposals that might be problematic for the country. Many of his ideas sound good on paper, but we have seen the recent record of Bolivia and Venezuela, in their attempts to institute Socialist democracies. Many Colombians are concerned about the possible flight of investment dollars back to America, a resurgence of violence similar to last year’s riots, and an isolationist stance from the United States and Europe. Only the future will tell how Petro does. In the meantime, please pray for Colombia.
Scripture is a great teacher, and when asked about the end of times, Jesus himself said, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 25:36.) There have been many leaders in Church history who believed they could predict the end of days. They saw in the distress of their own time the signs of the end. Some have even predicted days and times for this event, or for the return of the Messiah. Let me caution you against this. God calls us to remain active, working to build his kingdom, and producing the fruit that as disciples of Jesus we are called to produce. Worries and anxieties about the end of days sap all the energy out of us, and push us deeper into our own pessimism and hopelessness. To me, knowing when is not as important as doing the work of the Gospel until that day comes. I want to remain busy. I want to keep my lamps well-oiled. And I want to die doing the work God has given me to do. The rest is up to him. I chose to believe that his providential hand is leading us back to him and that the future depends on him. Today, I pray that you will be at peace. God is in control, even if it doesn’t look like it from where we stand. No natural phenomenon, like the weather; no political power, at home or abroad; no economic reversal, like this inflation and recession; and no personal problems, regardless of complexity, will ever be able to draw us away from the Love of God in Christ Jesus. These temporary afflictions will be resolved soon enough because only God lasts forever. Be at peace and be patient. God is on the move.
Blessings to you,
Fr. Roman+
