The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 44: The Scandal of Evil (2025)

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

If God is a good Father and creates a good world, why does evil exist? The Catechism addresses this profound and often painful question. Fr. Mike helps us understand how to reconcile sin, evil, and suffering with God’s loving Providence. He assures us that while God does not remove evil, he does redeem it, offering himself as the solution. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 309-314. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward a heavenly home. It is day 44, reading paragraphs 309-314. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundation

of Faith approach. You can of course follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I just happen to like this one. You can also download your Catechism in a year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash C-I-Y. And also, you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates at daily notifications you guys it is day 44 we are hitting yesterday right we had the God's providence his secondary causes that God is a he's the primary cause of all creation but also we recognize that

he allows secondary causes and today we recognize the cost of those secondary causes because in God's providence there also is this we recognize the cost of those secondary causes because in God's providence there also is this thing called the scandal of evil and today that's what we're gonna talk about. It's actually really, believe it or not, it's very deep and profound and sometimes difficult to talk about. It's even more difficult to live as we all know because the question is if we start out in paragraph 309 immediately asking the question, if God the Father is, if we start out in paragraph 309, immediately asking the question, if God the Father Almighty,

the creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all his creatures, why does evil exist? And that's the question we're gonna look at today. And ultimately, we recognize that, ah, there's no easy answer. In fact, one of my favorite paragraphs, a couple of my favorite sections of the catechism that we've read so far are in today's reading paragraph 309 the entire paragraph itself

Basically responds by saying there is no quick answer. There's no no simple answer In fact, the only answer is the entirety of the Christian faith And in fact the last line of paragraph 309 is going to say this There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an Answer to the question of evil and that is so important because we recognize that God's answer to evil Is not to take it away and God's answer is not to give us a reason This is why this happened is why that happened God's answer to evil is himself that he enters into the evil He allows it to overwhelm him. He conquers it. He transforms it.

Doesn't take it away, but he transforms it. He doesn't remove it, but he redeems it. And that is so vastly important. In fact, we're going to conclude these paragraphs today in paragraph 313 with a series of quotes from saints who have come to this place of great faith, knowing that, okay, in everything God can work for the goodness of those who love him, right? That we are going to hear from St. Catherine of Siena in her declaration of faith that God does nothing without this goal, the goal of love.

We're gonna hear from St. Thomas More, who talks about this, that no matter how bad things may be, it will be the best, God's will is the best. And also Dame Julian of Norwich, who says all manner of things shall be well, even in the midst of brokenness. That's what we're gonna talk about today. And again, we're gonna ask the question,

why didn't God just create a world that had no evil? And the ultimately answer is he could have done that if he wanted to, but he willed to create creatures who could love. And because God willed to create creatures who could love, those creatures, angels and humans, also have the capacity to do the opposite of love. We also have the capacity to use and abuse each other. And because of that, we have the reality of not only of physical evil, but also moral evil. We're talking about both of those today as well. And so yeah, the big questions, such a huge question

and such a huge reality for all of us. So that's actually, as we begin this day, let's just call upon the Lord and turn to our Father in the power of the Holy Spirit, knowing that we can trust in God. We pray, Father in heaven, we thank you. In all things we thank you. We know that all things will be well, but in the meantime, we walk through this valley of the shadow of death, we walk through this veil of tears. So Lord, we know that not one of our tears falls to the ground without you knowing it. We know that none of us take a step alone without you by our side, but we ask that you please

give us just enough light to take that next step. Give us just enough light to be able to trust in you with our whole lives, even in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death, even in the midst of suffering and brokenness, even in the midst of our sorrow and grief. We ask you to help us to trust in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, it is day 44, we are reading paragraphs 309 to 314. Providence and the Scandal of Evil. If God the Father Almighty, the Creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all His creatures, why does evil exist? To this question, as pressing as it is unavoidable and as painful as it is mysterious, no quick answer will suffice.

Only Christian faith as a whole constitutes the answer to this question. The goodness of creation, the drama of sin, and the patient love of God who comes to meet man by His covenants, the redemptive incarnation of His Son, His gift of the Spirit, His gathering of the Church, the power of His sacraments, and His call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which, by a terrible mystery, they can also turn away in advance. There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil.

But why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it? With infinite power, God could always create something better. But with infinite wisdom and goodness, God freely willed to create a world in a state of journeying toward its ultimate perfection. In God's plan, this process of becoming involved the appearance of certain beings and the disappearance of others, the existence of the more perfect alongside the less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature. With physical good, there exists also physical evil as long as creation has not reached perfection. Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey

toward their ultimate destinies by their free choice and preferential love. They can therefore go astray. Indeed, they have sinned. Thus has moral evil, incommensurably more harmful than physical evil, entered the world. God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil, incommensurably more harmful than physical evil, entered the world. God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures, and mysteriously knows how to derive good from it. As St. Augustine wrote, For Almighty God, because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works,

if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself. In time, we can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a moral evil caused by his creatures. It was not you, said Joseph to his brothers, who sent me here, "'but God. You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.'" From the greatest moral evil ever committed, the rejection and murder of God's only Son, caused by the sins of all men, God by His grace that abounded all the more, brought

the greatest of goods, the glorification of Christ in our redemption. But for all that, evil never becomes a good. As St. Paul wrote to the Romans, we know that in everything God works for good for those who love him. The constant witness of the saints confirms this truth. St. Catherine of Siena said to those who are scandalized and rebel against what happens to them, everything comes from love. All is ordained for the salvation of man. God does nothing without this goal in mind. St. Thomas More, shortly before his martyrdom,

consoled his daughter, Nothing can come but that that God wills. And I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, seem it never so bad in sight, it shall indeed be the best." Dame Julian of Norwich wrote, Here I was taught by the grace of God, that I should steadfastly keep me in the faith, and that at the same time I should take my stand on and earnestly believe in what our Lord showed in this time, that all manner of things shall be well. We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history, but the ways of His providence are often unknown to us.

Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God face to face, will we fully know the ways by which, even through the dramas of evil and sin, God has guided His creation to that definitive Sabbath rest for which he created heaven and earth. Okay, so here we are today. My gosh, you guys, as I said today, I think this is just powerful, maybe one of the more powerful days we have when we're talking about the reality of God in the in himself, right? It's incredible. It's beautiful because

this is the Lord God we get to talk about. But when we get to talk about God's care for the world and also the reality and the scandal of evil, the problem of suffering, then it's almost like one of those moments where, okay, this is God's reality and his goodness and his power and his beauty and his wisdom, encountering our brokenness and our limitation, right?

And our suffering and our grief. I just, I can't begin to say how powerful these paragraphs are. You heard them. Let's start with paragraph three Oh nine. The big question. If God, the father almighty creator of the ordered and good world cares for his creatures, why does evil exist? And I love this.

Again, the response is there's no simple answer. No quick answer will suffice. Only the Christian faith as a whole constitutes the answer to this question. And then I don't know if you caught this, but the rest of the paragraph is basically the beats, right? The points of Christian doctrine that talk about like here's how we understand this. And it starts by saying the goodness of creation, right? That we know that creation itself is good. Remember God looked at all he had made and said it's good. Look to human beings, it's very good. But also the next step, the drama of sin, that here is this good world that we broke.

But the next step, the patient love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants. That's what happened right after, right? Here is God creates this good world, Genesis 1 and 2. Here's our sin, Genesis chapter 3. Here's the promise of that he would not leave us in Genesis chapter 3 as well, right? But then you also have the redemptive incarnation of his son So you just sum up the whole entirety of the Old Testament in one line Where it says the patient love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants and you sum up the New Testament by saying the redemptive Incarnation of his son the gift of his spirit the gathering of his church the power of his sacraments

They recognize this right so that that what Jesus has done to us comes to us in power, in reality, by the power of the Holy Spirit through the church, in the sacraments, which is incredible. The sacraments are part of God's answer to the problem of suffering, which is incredible. And his call to a blessed life. And this is these two lines at the end of this paragraph. Maybe it's one of the reasons why this paragraph is just so I mean just touches my mind my heart so powerfully Here's the second to last sentence where it says His call to a blessed life. This is God's call to he wants us to be with him, right? He wants us to have beatitude

He wants us to live with him forever in heaven His call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance Like we get to say yes, and that's what this world is, right? In this world we get to give God our answer. Do we give him our yes or do we give him our no? Because the second half of that sentence, call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which by a terrible mystery they can also turn away in advance. That we get to say yes to God We also have the capacity to say no to God by a terrible mystery God allows us to say no to him and that last sentence of course in paragraph 309

There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil And just so powerful so powerful, of course, then it goes on but yeah But if God is so perfect, he could create a world so perfect that there is no such thing as evil. There is no such thing as suffering. Yes, that's possible. But God, in his wisdom, decided to create a world that was in a state of journey, right?

And so with physical good, there also exists physical evil until creation reaches perfection. So, I mean, what's an example of this? Well, since gravity exists, that's amazing. We stay stuck to this planet. I mean what's an example of this? Well since gravity exists That's amazing. We stay stuck to this planet. I think that's how it works. But also because gravity exists things fall down including us and And that hurts because again with physical good there also exists physical evil as long as creation does not reach perfection More than that in paragraph 311, here we are angels and human beings, intelligent and free

creatures, we have to journey to our ultimate destinies by our free choice and preferential love. Therefore, we can go astray that because God has created us free, we have the capacity to love, but also because God has created us free, we have the capacity to use, to choose not love, thus has created us free we have the capacity to use to choose not love thus has moral evil which as the catechism highlights is incommensurably more harmful than physical evil entered the world and this is so very important for us to understand is that moral evil is vastly worse than physical evil that it is worse to die spiritually than it is to die physically. And yet, so often we forget that reality.

We forget that fact. Paragraph goes on to say, paragraph 311, that we need to make sure that we're never, ever hinting at this, because it's not the truth. It says, God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it because he respects the freedom of his creatures and also because he knows how to derive good from it. We've talked about

this before. We talked about that analogy of the sun that we don't get dark or cold from the sun. We only get darkness or cold when something gets in the way of the sun's light and heat. Something similar is true for God that God is in no way directly or indirectly the cause of evil. He allows it. He permits it because he respects our freedom and all of his creatures is true for God, that God is in no way directly or indirectly the cause of evil. He allows it, he permits it because he respects our freedom in all of his creatures and also because he knows how to derive good from it. And then in paragraph 312, it gives this incredible example. In fact, two incredible examples.

One is Joseph. Remember, Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in the book of Genesis, and they intended it for evil. They wanted him to, well, originally they wanted to kill him, but instead they sold him into slavery. They meant it for evil. They wanted him to well originally they wanted to kill him But instead they sold them into slavery. They meant it for evil even Joseph says it's quoted here But God meant it for good He allowed that to happen because he knew he could bring about a greater good and the same thing is true The the drama of the incarnation right of Jesus Christ the passion and death of our Lord the resurrection his resurrection

that we realized the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of everything is the moment God made himself vulnerable, we tried to kill him. And then we ultimately succeeded in killing him. This worst thing that ever happened, worst thing we've ever done, we killed God. Human beings have killed God,

but that brought about the greatest good, which is the salvation and redemption of all men. And so we recognize that God can allow moral evil. That yes, he does allow us to make free choices. He's never the cause of the evil we choose, but he is the source of our freedom. He is the source of love. The fact that we can distort that love,

we can distort those goods, we can misuse each other and ourselves Is not his doing He allows it because he knows he can bring about a greater good And it says in paragraph 312 and in 314 the first line in 312 says in time We can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of evil even a moral evil In time. That's the hard part, right? That paragraph 314 says, we firmly believe that God is master of the

world and of its history. But the ways of His providence are often unknown to us only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases. When we see God face to face, will we fully know the ways by which, even through the dramas of evil and sin, God has guided his creation to that definitive Sabbath rest. So we recognize that we remain in a state of journey and we get to have confidence in God. We get to rest in him. We get to rely upon him. And I imagine there are so many times when we're like, I'd rather not, Lord, I'd rather not have to go through this again, valley of the shadow of death, I'd rather not, Lord, I'd rather not have to go through this, again, valley of the shadow of death. I'd rather not have to go through this veil of tears. But that's why we have those words of those great saints.

Julian of Rowech saying, all manner of things shall be well. Catherine of Siena saying that everything comes from love. All is ordained for the salvation of man. God does nothing without this goal in mind. Everything that comes to us, God can use for the salvation of man. God does nothing without this goal in mind. Everything that comes to us God can use for our salvation everything that comes to us Will be the best and that's what st. Thomas more said right? He said I make me very sure that whatsoever that may be whatever comes

Seem it never so bad in sight. It shall indeed be the best and That's the big prayer for today Right is that okay God help me to help me to trust Is that, okay God, help me to trust that. Help me to trust you. Help me to rely upon you and to know that, yes, all that comes to me, even if it's something that just breaks my heart, breaks my life, and even though life is even harder, right, when it's the people around us. Even then, help me to trust in you. Even then, help me to rely on you. Dame Julian Roweich helped me to say all will be well,

all will be well, all manner of things will be well. That's our prayer. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.