WHY?

The question comes up again and again.

Why do the wicked prosper - often at the expense of the innocent?

The question is asked in today's first reading (Habakkuk 1:12-2:4):

Are you not from eternity, O LORD,
my holy God, immortal?

...

Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,
and the sight of misery you cannot endure.

Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence
while the wicked man devours
one more just than himself?

...

Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword
to slay peoples without mercy?

I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart,
And keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.

Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision
Clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.

For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment,
and will not disappoint;
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.

The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man,
because of his faith,
shall live.

There are many wicked people today who slay the innocent.

And there are also many rash people: impatient at the seeming tolerance of injustice and tragedy by a just and merciful God.

They cannot make sense of it, so they conclude that there must therefore be no justice or no God or both.

What arrogance.

Human reason is indeed the way humans try to make sense of the world and human reason is very efficacious, but it is not infinite.

A child may not be able to understand the reason for something, but that does not mean a reason does not exist.

It is human arrogance (and indeed ignorance) to think otherwise.

We should use our intellects, but we must also be realistic and to some extent patient.

Our minds can discover and understand much, but there will always be the need for faith.

Faith does not always yield the answer of instant gratification, but it provides the truest strength.

For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment,
and will not disappoint;
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.

The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man,
because of his faith,
shall live.