Jesse's Thoughts on "The Los Angeles Fire Disasters"
In Catholic theology, God's will is often understood in two distinct aspects: God's Direct Will and God's Permissive Will.
God's Direct Will: This refers to God's active and sovereign will where He directly causes events to happen according to His divine plan. It includes God's commands and actions that align with His nature and intentions for creation. For example, the creation of the world and the miracles performed by Jesus are seen as manifestations of God's direct will.
God's Permissive Will: This aspect refers to God's allowance of certain events or actions to occur, even if they involve sin or evil, without directly causing them. God permits free will and the natural course of events, which can lead to suffering or wrongdoing. In this view, while God does not cause evil, He allows it to happen for reasons that can align with His greater purposes, such as preserving human free will or bringing about a greater good from a situation that seems bad.
These concepts help Catholics understand how God's sovereignty coexists with human freedom and the presence of evil in the world.
*Coincidence https://www.dictionary.com/browse/coincidence “a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance.”
For God in His Divine Providence there is no such thing as a coincidence. God either directs things to happen or permits things to happen.
There are no coincidences, a coincidence is simply when God wants to remain anonymous.
Why does God allow natural disasters?
Answer: Why does God allow earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, cyclones, mudslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters? Tragedies like the 2025 wildfires in California cause many people to question God’s goodness. It is distressing that natural disasters are often termed “acts of God” while no “credit” is given to God for years, decades, or even centuries of peaceful weather. God created the whole universe and the laws of nature (Genesis 1:1). Most natural disasters are a result of these laws at work. Hurricanes, typhoons, and tornados are the results of divergent weather patterns colliding. Earthquakes are the result of the earth’s plate structure shifting. A tsunami is caused by an underwater earthquake.
The Bible proclaims that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together (Colossians 1:16-17). Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely! Does God sometimes influence the weather? Yes, as we see in Deuteronomy 11:17 and James 5:17. Numbers 16:30-34 shows us that God sometimes causes natural disasters as a judgment against sin. The book of Revelation describes many events which could definitely be described as natural disasters (Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 16). Is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Absolutely not.
Matt 5:45 states: “that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
In the Bible, God is described as having destroyed two main wicked cities: Sodom and Gomorrah. These cities are mentioned in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 19) as being destroyed by brimstone and fire due to their great wickedness and sins. The story emphasizes themes of morality, judgment, and divine justice.
History is full of examples of decadent societies that suddenly crumbled. Empires that seemed undefeatable have been reduced to ruins. It is not unreasonable to think that America, that has always assumed that it is somehow vaccinated against disaster, can also fall victim to catastrophe.
That same God Who is the creator and maintainer of the enormously stable universal order holds that order in a delicate balance depending on the solidity of man’s fidelity to Him.
In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. Romans 8:19-21 tells us, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.
Romans 8:22-24 (NAB) “We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees?” Dr Hahn – Paul hears creation crying out like a woman giving birth. The pangs of labor will not subside until the children of God are revealed and the whole material creation is renewed (v.21). The earth growns under the curse of Genesis 3:17
“To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat from it, Cursed is the ground because of you! In toil you shall eat its yield all the days of your life.” This passage shows that Adams sin had catastrophic consequences not only for himself but for the world in which he lived.
Saint Augustine teaches that man is judged and punished for his sins individually in the afterlife. However since nations have no afterlife, the collective sins of nations are punished on earth.3 Cf. St. Augustine, The City of God, at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/, Book I, Chapters 1 and 9. The thesis that nations are rewarded or chastised in this earthly life is an underlying thesis found throughout The City of God, but particularly in Books IV and V.
Thus, when the sins of nations reach an apogee, God exercises His justice upon them. As Our Lady of Fatima warned, the punishments for sin include war, famine, and the persecution of the Church.
Father Chad Ripperger (exorcist), Roman Catholic priest, from Denver, who founded a community of exorcists religious in the U.S. was asked: “As for societal darkness, are we seeing disasters, such as the current wildfires, as a result? Are they ‘signs of the times?’” Fr Ripperger said “Yes, historically if people lead good and virtuous lives, you won’t see same frequency [of disasters].” http://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/video-exorcist-on-deliverance
We can understand why natural disasters occur. What we do not understand is why God allows them to occur. Why did God allow a tsunami to kill over 225,000 people in Asia? Why does God allow hurricanes to destroy the homes of thousands of people? For one thing, such events shake our confidence in this life and force us to think about eternity. Churches are usually filled after disasters as people realize how tenuous their lives really are and how life can be taken away in an instant. What we do know is this: God is good! Many amazing miracles occurred during the course of natural disasters that prevented even greater loss of life. Natural disasters cause millions of people to reevaluate their priorities in life. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid is sent to help the people who are suffering. Christian ministries have the opportunity to help, minister, counsel, pray, and lead people to saving faith in Christ! God can, and does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies (Romans 8:28) -https://www.gotquestions.org/natural-disasters.html .
Catechism of the Catholic paragraph Church 324 The fact that God permits physical and even moral evil is a mystery that God illuminates by his Son Jesus Christ who died and rose to vanquish evil. Faith gives us the certainty that God would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil, by ways that we shall fully know only in eternal life.
Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 385 God is infinitely good and all his works are good. Yet no one can escape the experience of suffering or the evils in nature which seem to be linked to the limitations proper to creatures: and above all to the question of moral evil. Where does evil come from? "I sought whence evil comes and there was no solution", said St. Augustine,257 and his own painful quest would only be resolved by his conversion to the living God. For "the mystery of lawlessness" is clarified only in the light of the "mystery of our religion".258 The revelation of divine love in Christ manifested at the same time the extent of evil and the superabundance of grace.259 We must therefore approach the question of the origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is its conqueror.260