As I write this column, Vladimir Putin is just now invading Ukraine. I have no idea what will be happening by the time this column appears in print, but I choose to write now because the problem of evil is an eternal problem.
“I have set before you life and death,” cautions a famous passage in Deuteronomy. “Choose life!” (Dt 30:19).
Putin has chosen to inflict death. Can we use this as an incentive for us to choose life?
That may not be a matter of doing great things. Though I don’t know who said this (it’s often falsely attributed to St. Teresa of Kolkata), it remains pertinent: “We are not called to do great things, but to do small things with great love.” Maybe that might involve simply greeting a neighbor, smiling at a stranger in a store or just holding a door for someone. Great love can involve all creatures. Before the pandemic, I barely noticed squirrels. But as the lockdown continued, and I was forced to spend more at home, I began to notice these little creatures. I would see them constantly searching for food, so I decided to become a supplier. I began buying large bags of peanuts in the shell.
If I just tossed shelled peanuts, the squirrels wouldn’t eat them. Apparently they like to crunch the shells. And, no, squirrels do not seem especially generous. A squirrel will grab a peanut and climb a tree so another squirrel cannot get it. Sharing does not seem to be in their nature. Occasionally, a squirrel will bite another squirrel who grabs a peanut. Again, survival of the fittest seems to be true for them.
In the past, when I was younger and my health was better, I was involved in many activities – this column, a weekly radio show, parish retreats, missions, weekend retreats and much more.
Fortunately I can still write this column and do some limited counseling, as well as help at Oak Crest Retirement Community.
So I do try to practice what I preach. I can’t do what I used to do, but I try to do what I can with great love. Only God’s love makes that possible.
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