In the wake of a serious disaster
in the past, the tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2018 that killed thousands of
people, someone wrote (in an essay that we can no longer find) that what is
most noteworthy is not that such disasters happen. Mankind has experienced them throughout his
life on earth: volcanoes erupting,
earthquakes, fires, diseases, and so on with the rest. What is remarkable, the writer said, is that
despite all these disasters, in the face of so much grief and suffering, good
things still happen in the world.
This applies to the tragedy
of the flash floods that struck the interior of Texas on July 4th
[2025]. The deaths of the young
Christian girls at Camp Mystic, together with the other deaths that have now
surpassed 100 people total, are heart-wrenching. And yet what do we see once again in the
midst of this bleak picture of death and loss?
Virtues of all sorts: Hope,
generosity, self-sacrifice, and more besides.
Surviving
campers joyfully singing Christian hymns; men and women heroically risking
their lives to save victims of the flooding, or to locate the bodies of the dead.
What is this? Who or what breaks into the death and
destruction and despair of this world to bring light and comfort and
healing? It is Christ; it is Emmanuel;
it is God With Us. The sin and
rebelliousness of men and women and the demons have caused chaos to reign in
the world, but God has lovingly descended from the heavens to restore and mend
what has been broken and damaged:
‘If there is any sense to be
made of these tragedies from our poor, myopic perspective, it is one provided
simply and eloquently by the Church’s liturgical worship. From Nativity,
through Theophany, and on to Holy Pascha which we are now preparing, the common
theme that we celebrate and proclaim to each other and to the world is summed
up in the name given to Jesus at His birth, the name Emmanuel, “God is with
us.” This means not only that God accompanies us, remains present with us, and
provides hope and consolation in our times of grief and loss. It means above
all that God shares our suffering. He takes part in our pain and
anguish, fully and to the bitter end.
‘ . . . Another and still
more important point, however, is the truth expressed in the name Emmanuel. In
the midst of a critically unstable, and at times violently chaotic world, we
can hold fast to the one truth, the one reality that matters: God is with us’ (Fr
John Breck, ‘Why?,’ oca.org).
It is the love of Jesus
Christ that is seen time and again when disasters strike and overwhelm us, that
lifts us out of them, that keeps the world from falling completely into the
depths of hopelessness.
The saints of the Church, the
honored friends of Christ, are quite clear that what happens in the physical
realm is a reflection of what is happening in the spiritual realm. Without a doubt, Texas has become a veritable
spiritual battleground. Over the past
year we have noted in articles here at The Hayride that largely
Christian Texas has come under assault from Hinduism,
the
death cult of Santa Muerte, and Islam. While the ultimate causes of tragedies like
the flash flooding in Texas are mostly hidden from us, we could perhaps venture
to say that, considering the warfare that is raging on the unseen spiritual
plane, we should be surprised that the physical manifestation of that warfare
has not produced more destructive prodigies than it has.
And Church history gives us a
strong indication of how to keep both the spiritual and physical destruction at
bay – by imitating and honoring the God-bearing saints, especially the Mother
of God:
‘The image of
the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which we especially venerate
today, is not merely a church feast—it is a celebration of deep significance
for the history of our country. On this day, we commemorate the miraculous
deliverance of our country from the aggressive expansion of Khan Akhmat. There
is no need to delve into the historical aspects or examine that particular
event in detail. What is important for us as believers is to highlight the main
point: that every time our state stood on the edge of disaster, divine
intervention—through the prayers of the Mother of God—saved us from imminent
destruction. If it were not for Her special protection, if not for the prayers
of the saints, if not for the firm faith of our forefathers, it is quite
possible that we would no longer be gathering here in church for worship, and
most likely our state would have ceased to exist long ago.
‘When our state stood on the
brink of ruin, divine intervention—through the prayers of the Mother of
God—delivered us from destruction.
‘How many military campaigns
have there been, revolutions, diseases, epidemics—yet our nation, like a
phoenix, always rose from the ashes. And of course, one is led to the thought
that this is . . . also a sign of God’s special care for our nation through the
prayers of the Most Pure Virgin Mary.
‘On one condition will the
Lord always be with us—if we preserve the faith and our spiritual values; if we
do not cave into sin and stand firm in defending our spiritual culture. . . .
The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2025/07/garlington-the-spiritual-plane-is-manifesting-after-the-texas-flooding-tragedy/.
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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