It is true that the earthquake in Haiti this week has shaken us all. The loss of life, the devastation and the impact on the Church in this poorest of poor countries is a tragedy for which there are no words.

And yet, we do know that the words Scripture gives us are true: “For God works all things for the good for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

And it is also true that, especially in moments like these, it requires great faith to “see” the good. While the theological virtue of faith is given to us in Baptism, it must be cultivated through correspondence to grace.

We correspond to grace each time we are faced with a reversal, a trial, a suffering, a contradiction, or any other kind of travail no matter how great or small.

Following Our Lady’s example, we ought to “ponder all these things” in our heart so that we might “see” the hand of God moving in and through every circumstance and situation.

People who show us how to do this — the Blessed Mother, the saints, witnesses to the faith in our day and time — call us up beyond ourselves and encourage us to transcend the difficulty through the grace of God active within us.

Even now, in the midst of the rubble of Haiti, such witnesses are rising up as exemplars for all of us.

Today, I received a video that inspired and encouraged me. Though not about the devastation and sorrow of Haiti, this young man and his father call us to a greater response to the trials and reversals of our own lives.

I hope it gives you moment to pause, reflect, and thank God for everything that comes to us through His permissive will. It is these passive purgations and our faith-filled response to them that help us  merit Heaven even as we are conformed to the Cross of Christ.

www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9xwCG0Ey2Mg    (You need sound)