Eye on the World: natural disasters

Scores of people were killed and injured when a tornado, the result of a storm system stretching across much of the United States, swept through Moore, Oklahoma on Monday afternoon. The two-mile-wide tornado, accompanied by high winds and hail, leveled schools and homes and knocked out power and water for many residents. Meanwhile, on Monday morning, a magnitude-6.5 earthquake rattled southern Chile. No tsunami warning was issued.

How can we respond to news of natural disasters, whether they happen close to where we live or far away? There’s something more we can do besides sit by and hope for the best: we can meet news of destruction with prayer. 

God doesn’t create natural disasters” shows us an important starting point: those affected by events like earthquakes and tornadoes deserve our compassion and support, but we need to pray to see more clearly that destructive events do not originate in God, divine Love. Our prayers to better understand God’s peace bring harmony to a roiled material mentality, and we’ll naturally see this harmony reflected in fewer disasters.

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