Episode Transcript  

One

How can it be?

It can be really hard to believe in God when there is so much suffering of the innocent. I mean, how could a God who is supposed to be all-powerful and all good let an innocent person suffer? 

There is a powerful scene in Eli Weisel’s classic book about the Nazi Concentration Camps, Night. In that book, an innocent young boy is murdered by hanging, and as he dies, the question goes up, “Where is God?” 

This scene crystallizes that ultimate challenge to faith: If God is all-powerful and all-good, then why does He allow the suffering of the innocent? 

Two

How Do We Know It Should Not Be? 

When we read this scene of evil and suffering, something inside us rises up in indignation. We feel that things should not be this way. Evil men should not inflict harm on the innocent. Torturous illnesses should not afflict children. But consider the source of that feeling. Where do we get that sense, “Things should not be this way?” It only makes sense to talk about the way things should not be if there’s a way things should be. And it only makes sense to talk about the way things should be if they have been made a certain way, given a certain purpose, if they have been created with a certain design. And none of that makes sense without a creator, a designer, an ultimate giver of purpose.

So our very reaction to evil shows two fundamental things: There is a God and He did not design things to be this way.

But we still have to ask, why does He allow evil, why does He let bad things happen to good people?

Three

The Goods He Does not want to Destroy

There are certain goods I don’t want to eliminate, even if eliminating those goods would also eliminate certain evils. I don’t want to eliminate my house, even though that would eliminate all kinds of cleaning and financing, and maintenance evils. I don’t want to eliminate my family, even though that would have eliminated all kinds of fighting and misunderstandings, and regrets. And I don’t want to eliminate my need or love for food, even though that would eliminate both weight gain and hunger. 

Well, similarly, there are certain goods God does not want to eliminate. These are great goods, maybe the greatest, and God will not destroy them even if to destroy them would eliminate evil. He will not destroy human beings, even though that would eliminate evil. He will not destroy the free will and the capacity to love and withhold love, which is part of human beings, even though that would eliminate evil. He will not destroy our capacity to receive, to rely on others, to be grateful. He will not make us impervious and insensitive, self-autonomous and indestructible robots, even though that would eliminate the suffering of the innocent. 

He will not destroy the family structure, where we benefit from the gifts of our ancestors, and we suffer from their failures. We receive life from Adam and Eve, and we also receive the trials of our wounded humanity from them. 

And is the first not worth the second? No, the goods God has given us are great goods. And He will not destroy, even to end all the evil and suffering. And we can never thank Him enough. Not only for giving us these gifts, but for giving them forever.

Four

Goods He Plans to Give Us in the Future

Not only has God given us great gifts already, but He plans on giving us even greater gifts in the future. And so many times, these greater gifts spring out of the suffering, even innocent suffering.

This pattern shows up again and again, if you watch for it. We get unjustly fired from one job that actually puts us in the way of getting a better job. It's precisely because your kid was such a mess in his teens that you're so deeply grateful he's now married, faithful, and holding down a good job. It was that early heart attack that shook you awake and pushed you to get your life in order, so you could actually live much longer in the end.

Even More: It was your wife’s nervous breakdown that gave you the chance to show her how much you love her. It’s the death of a friend that makes you get serious about your faith again. It’s your financial trouble that makes you remember what’s really important in life, and what isn’t. And, of course, it’s death itself, as Jesus has proven for us, that has become the doorway to eternal glory.

God can’t get rid of evil and suffering without eliminating all the best goods in the world. But what He can do, and what He always does, is use evil and suffering as the opportunity to give us new goods greater than any we have imagined.

We just have to be willing to trust Him and accept the gifts as they come from His hands.

Five

Why Does God Let the Innocent Suffer?

For God to eliminate all evil, He would also have to eliminate even greater goods, like human freedom, the capacity to love, and humanity itself. But God is so all-good and all-powerful that He can bring an even greater good out of evil.

From the greatest moral evil ever committed, the brutal humiliation, torture, and murder of His Son, God brought about the greatest good: our redemption. In this, God proved that He works all things for good for those who love Him. Jesus accepted His suffering and offered it to the Father to save us. Now He invites us to do the same: to unite our suffering with His to help save our loved ones.

Whatever pain, loss, or evil you face—accept it, offer it, and unite it to the power of Jesus for the salvation of your family and friends. As members of the Movement of the Holy Family, a Public Association of the Faithful, your spiritual offering doesn’t stand alone. It goes into a shared treasury of grace—what the Catechism calls “the Church’s spiritual goods” (CCC 1476). We join together, pooling our prayers and sacrifices for the conversion, healing, and salvation of our loved ones.

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• Offer up every suffering you endure today for the salvation of your family and friends.

• Spend time in gratitude each night, reflecting on all the ways in which God has transformed your suffering and brought good out of it.

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