Why is there so much suffering in the world?

"God has given free will to everyone, and therefore never forces anyone - but only indicates, calls and persuades." St. Angela Merici

I get so frustrated with people who blame God for the problems in the world today. They expect God to swoop down and take away all our problems, all our pain, all our worry. It's been a human expectation since Biblical times. Remember how the Jews expected the Messiah to come riding in with a great army and throw off the oppressive yoke of the Romans?

But Jesus came into the world pretty much the exact opposite way: a babe born in a stable manger. It is just one of many ways God shows us that His ways are not our ways. He does not think as a human does, so His wisdom all too often eludes the limits of our minds.

Yet the concept of free will shouldn't be so difficult for us to grasp. God has made it abundantly clear that He loves us. And what is love without free will? Love isn't love if it's given out of obligation. It's only genuine love if it's given freely, with no constraints. God wants our love, too, and He knows we can only truly love Him of our own free will. Otherwise, it's not love at all.

But free will isn't "free" unless it's untethered in all ways....and that's where so much suffering in this world comes from. Our wills clashing with each other, fueled by purely human drives: greed, fear, lust, revenge. With all that in play, is it no wonder this world can seem like it's falling apart so often?

And yet so many blame God, as if it's His fault. Ironically, the very component that is our saving grace --- His limitless love for us --- also is the source of freedom that too often enslaves us: our free will, corrupted by selfishness or limited vision into a force for destruction rather than redemption.

Catholics are taught that God can use all things for good, though too often we can struggle to see how good can come out of truly awful events or situations. The truth is, He's working --- somehow --- in every situation to draw good from it. We may not always see it, but perhaps it's enough to know that He's there....somewhere.

Until more of us are willing to exercise our free will in ways that please Him much more consistently, that may be a morsel of solace on days that try our souls.