On September 11 we received a potent reminder that if man is at times not far from God, at other times he is not far from the demons. The unspeakable crimes committed on the East Coast may leave some wondering about God’s superintendence of the world. How could he allow so many to perish? How could he allow such evil to succeed?
Here below we can have no definitive answers to such questions. The full answer will be given to us when we see God face to face. For now, all we can do is to look to the cross, the only source of true solace. The gross sins committed by the terrorists—and our own sins of a lifetime—made the cross necessary.
As we think about the evils committed by others, we should not forget the evils we commit. Even the least of them would have made the cross necessary. As we pray for the victims, as we pray for our country and its leaders, and as we pray—yes, for those who precipitated these sad events—let us pray too for ourselves, that we might fall into neither hatred nor despair.
On September 11 I was on a solo backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada. I had Purple Lake all to myself. The nearest phone and radio were in my car at the trailhead, eight miles away. I had seen no one since shortly after starting out on the trail the day before. I had searched for solitude, and I had found it. I had not yet learned of the events of that morning.
After breakfast I drank hot cocoa while sitting on a rock at the shore. There was no wind, and the lake was mirror-smooth. Near me a bubble burst the surface—a fish exhaling?—and concentric rings moved out, first past my feet and along the shore and then into the center of the water, where I lost sight of them in the glint from the low-angled sun. The small bubble produced an effect that reached to the furthest parts of the lake.
So it has been with the terrorist attacks. Catholic Answers is thousands of miles from the East Coast, but the attacks’ effects have been felt here. Among other things, we have seen a large and sudden drop in income—understandably, since purse strings are held tight when things are in turmoil. We cannot guess how long the falloff in support will last—we hope it will end soon—but we have been forced to make severe, if temporary, cutbacks throughout our apostolate. That includes This Rock.
You will note that this is a combined issue: October, November, and December. The next issue will appear in January, when we hope to be back on our regular schedule. You will not be shorted any issues—two months have been added to your subscription. By putting off two issues now we hope to ride out the financial storm. We are confident that you and our other readers will understand the situation and will accept this little cross willingly.