Calamities

By Fr. Leo Pabayo

THE last two years had been years of calamities in our country. Some of these were calamities of nature like typhoons, earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. This month, we had another one of this, the eruption of Taal Volcano.

Other calamities were not of nature but our own making due to our carelessness like the big fires that engulfed houses, the collapse of buildings due to faulty construction, polluted waters due to mindless mining, etc..

Which of the calamities are experiencing are caused by us and which are but the way nature behaves are not easily known.

We have learned much from the scientists the natural causes of calamities. On the other hand, theologians tell us that some of these are part divine providence.

Both of them are telling us that there are certain “danger” zones in nature that we have to take notice of to avoid being harmed. The natural world sometimes “behaves” in ways that pose danger to us if we fail to adapt to it. 

In other words, both are telling us that the world behaves according to certain principles and laws. These have been studied by theologians and scientists. Some of these “calamities” are really part of nature and that these are ways by which certain wholeness and balance in nature is maintained. We can benefit from them if we know how to act in harmony with nature. We can be harmed if we do not adapt to them. The question that has been posed by the theologians is: Why do we fail to adapt to nature? The answer to this question may be found in a saying attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo. “Science tells us how the heavens go but faith us how to go to heaven.”

In the past, natural calamities were regarded by some old folks as “gaba sa Diyos” (curse from God) or “silot ng Diyos” (God’s punishment). This is not true. God, in fact, is always trying to help us to be in tune with nature to avoid being harmed by its natural activities. God is sometimes like a harried mother frantically trying to prevent things in the house from falling apart and restoring those that have fallen apart as her hyperactive children are having fun with no thought whatsoever of the consequences of their careless games.

Mankind, that is us, has been like careless and abusive children in our relationship with one another and with nature. Concerning nature, we have been rapacious in extracting from the bounties of nature causing disorder around us. On the other hand, whenever some disorder has been done to it, God gets busy fixing it. We can observe this from the behavior of nature. Nature always acts to restore order and balance whenever its order is disturbed. Cut a branch of a tree and you see new branches coming out with new leaves, flowers, and fruits budding forth. Burn the grass and bushes but after a while, you will notice green shoots coming from the scorched grounds. Give a worn-out body sufficient rest and it regains its strength. But sometimes the healing power of nature cannot catch up with man’s relentless abuse of nature. This abuse results in harm to man and the rest of the natural world before the order is restored. But it is clear from our experience and our scientific studies that restoration is the law of nature. It is up to us to learn to adapt to nature and to stop abusing nature.

(Fr. Leo Pabayo is a member of the Society of Jesus.)