CAUGHT IN PROVIDENCE



“There is no hope unmingled with fear,

no fear unmingled with hope.”

Baruch Spinoza

 

An Irish proverb says, “Hope is the physician of each misery.” While, on the surface, it appears true, it’s also true, that when we hope for the best, we do not cease to fear the worst…

Hope is hope when fear still stares at us, and scares us… Despite our worst fears, if we still hope for the best, it means, that we are living with gratitude and fortitude…

The outcome is, certainly, not in our control… Hoping with gratitude and fortitude, always is.

A wonderful woman, the mother of one of my students, battled brain cancer for a couple of years. The woman, a school teacher, was such a gentle and dignified soul… The one-who-wouldn’t-even-hurt-a-fly, kind. Yes, seeing this gentle soul go through the painful ordeal was heart-wrenching… Many of us asked: “Lord, why her? Why bad things happen to good people?”

There is no answer to this question, I am sure… We can only interpret it with a piece of philosophy.

Cancer derails life… of the patient and family alike. It doesn’t leave the affected ones unchanged… Spiritually, this change is for the better, though.

The woman passed away, yesterday. The first thought, that most of us felt was: “It’s peaceful, that way.”

Life should go on for the family… The grieving will, soon, end… and life will be back on track. Meanwhile, the departed woman has already lived a fruitful and graceful life… So, can we flip the question: “Lord, why not her?”





One of my most favourable people has been Judge Frank Caprio. Many of us have watched the videos of his compassionate court-hearings (‘Caught in Providence’). The way he would deal with each case was something surreal – simply, out-of-this-world. “Can such things really happen in courtrooms?” Yes, I have asked this question, myself, so many times…

But, it has been happening for decades…You can imagine, what an impact Judge Caprio  must’ve left on those caught in providence… and millions of viewers like you and me.

And, yesterday, when I came across this video from Judge Caprio appealing all of us to pray for him, my heart broke… He is 87, and he is retired now from his legal hearings. But, he is caught in a providence called ‘Pancreatic Cancer’ – one of the most aggressive kinds… It was heart-wrenching to feel his pain, Yes, the same question sprang up in my mind, “Why him, Lord?”





Maybe, that’s the surest sign of being a good human… Even Jesus, the Son of God, had asked the same question, in pain and anguish, from His cross: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”



 


Was Jesus a good human?

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: 1. Pixabay  2. marriedbiography.org 

 

Videos: 1. NBC 10 WJAR 2. Kris Kristofferson

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