Fr. John's Reflection

Since the beginning of recorded time, human beings have written about, spoken about and lamented over suffering, evil, and other negative forces in the world. People have pondered ways to address and to cope with these situations and have turned to many sources including religion to search for  explanation, coping techniques and management strategies. Suffering is defined as an aversive experience involving severe distress (Callahan, 2007). The recent terrorist attacks Israel experienced in the early hours of Saturday, October 7, 2023 was a jarring example of how suffering can lead to a severe crisis for an individual, a family, a community and for a nation. 

The experience of suffering brings disjunction and discordance and a crisis to both the individual and a community as an attempt to construct meaning occurs (Boase, 2008).  Aside from religion, some believe it is helpful to wrestle with problems of suffering as an intellectual exercise. Some of these individuals believe that responding from an emotional or a spiritual level only gives false hope to individuals looking for relief to their pain. Experiences of sin, difficult social situations, evil, and tragic reality could then disintegrate human lives, leaving some apathetic in the face of bearing tremendous burden. Still other people respond to similar experiences of affliction, evil and sin with testimonies of a God who suffers with them, for them, and because of them (Pool, 2009).

What is a crisis?

A crisis is when the person’s usual and customary coping skills are no longer adequate to address a perceived stressful situation. Often such situations are novel and unexpected.  A crisis occurs when unusual stress, brought on by unexpected and disruptive events, render an  individual physically and emotionally disabled – because their usual coping mechanisms and past behavioral repertoire prove ineffective. A crisis overrides an individual’s normal ways of coping, moving the individual towards maladaptive behaviors, emotions or decisions. A crisis limits one’s ability to utilize more sophisticated problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.
The goals of crisis intervention are to lessen the intensity, duration, and presence of a crisis that is perceived as overwhelming and that can lead to self-injurious behaviors. This is accomplished by shifting the focus from an emergency that is life-threatening to a plan of action that is understandable and perceived as doable. Involving family, partners, friends, and social support networks is advisable.

God’s comfort and His peace,
Fr. John