Coronavirus: It's Not All Bad News! Praise God for the Good He Will Bring from It!

We are called to be saints. (Fra Angelico)

One of my favorite Scripture passages is this:

All things work together for good for those who love the Lord and serve according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) 

The Douay-Rheims translates Paul's passage this way:

And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.

Called to be saints!

That's us! And doesn't that "call" invite us to look at events, not in a worldly way, but through the eyes of God? How much do we trust that He really will "work all things together for good?"

I admit I didn't always trust God as much as I do today. When I had cancer in 1986 I was terrified! I was 39 with five young children, not knowing whether I would die. My whole body tingled constantly with fear and apprehension. But even in my fear, I told my oldest who was fifteen that I could only die if God allowed it and all would be well even if that happened. Our lives belong to God; we are only the stewards.

My emotions belied my words. Terror engulfed me. I used to put earplugs in and listen to a praise and worship tape over and over and over to beat back the fear. To this day, I thank God for Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ and that wonderful tape, a bulwark against the terror!

Now we face a new disease, a new assault from the evil one, a double disease because it's accompanied by devastating fear and panic.

Can we truly believe that God will work even this for good? Isn't the coronavirus a defeat for Him? Do bad things happen to good people because God is impotent and can't do anything to help us? Are horrible killer diseases like cancer, heart disease and the coronavirus proof that God doesn't care about us?

Judging from the panic, even among Christians, you would think the answer was, "yes." God is helpless in the face of the virus. Every death is proof that Satan wins and God loses.

Is that your fear? Do you think God has abandoned us?

NEVER!

Evil never wins. But, one suspects, that there's a limit to how much God will tolerate as nations dance down the "primrose path of dalliance" with the devil. We've been warned so many times by the Blessed Mother in apparition after apparition....She can no longer hold back God's punishment.

Fr. Collins wrote recently, that God seems to be saying (in capital letters), "NO MAS."

But is the virus an unmitigated disaster or will God keep His promise and "work all things together for good," including the coronavirus, "for those who love Him?"

Think of the things that have been shut down during the virus and praise God:

• No Sacrilegious Communions, sins against the first commandment! NO MAS! No pro-abortion politicians approaching to crucify Christ in His Real Presence! No cafeteria Catholics thumbing their noses at Our Lord. No souls in mortal sin increasing their condemnation! No casual, unprepared receptions! NO MAS!

• No immodest clothing or irreverent chatting before the tabernacle? Where people are still able to worship in their churches, they act in reverence. They look at and talk to Him, not their neighbors. What a haven of peace for those who love to be in the Lord's presence! Immodesty? Irreverence? NO MAS!

• No Post Mass pandemonium? NO MAS! Jesus is not inflicted with the indifference of parishioners who turn the church into a social hall as soon as they hear the last note of the recessional hymn. Now the church is silent with the faint smell of incense and a spirit of tranquility that invites union with Christ in the tabernacle.

• No drag queen story hours! NO MAS! Libraries are closed shutting down the porn in the playpen programs that psychologically rape the little ones. NO MAS!

• In some blessed states no abortions ripping babies out of the protection of their mothers' wombs. NO MAS!

• No Schools for scandal; parents are home-schooling. As Dr. Bill Marra often said. Kids are better off playing cards all day than being poisoned in the godless public school system with pornographic sex ed and socialist brainwashing! NO MAS! Maybe more parents will realize the blessing of home schooling and continue next year after this experience.

• How many people are reflecting on the four last things (death, judgment, heaven or hell) and embracing a conversion of heart? Only a few? Jesus says heaven rejoices more over one lost sheep restored to God than to 99 who never strayed. (Can any of us except the innocent little ones who have not yet reached the age of reason claim to have never strayed? We are ALL the lost sheep!)

St. Paul tells us to praise God in all things:

Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There are no exceptions in St. Paul's theology...not his shipwrecks...not his imprisonment...not his persecution...not even his martyrdom. Do you think he would say rejoice and give thanks....Oh, except for the coronavirus? I don't think so.

We must act prudently at all times, especially now, not exposing ourselves and others recklessly to such a terrible disease. But God promises to bring good from everything, even trials, if we love Him and serve according to His purpose.

So let us trust in Him and never let fear overcome us.

The Bible overflows with scripture passages against fear and anxiety. Here are several for contemplation:

Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom. Luke 12:32

For I am the Lord thy God, who take thee by the hand, and say to thee: Fear not, I have helped thee. Isaiah 41:13

Perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18

So many verses urge us to put our trust in God and never to be afraid. Let us take up the Word of God, read it, and let it sink deeply into our hearts. Our God is an awesome God who loves and cares for us like a mother cares for her children. Let us praise and thank Him in all things.