A<\/span><\/span>in\u2019t that the question? We hear it asked in the obligatory religious\/existential\/identity crisis episode of just about any TV series,\u00a0usually spewed by some stupid, emotional minor character who ends up settling for some vague, silly form of religion. We hear it asked by children and adults alike, only children have the sense to ask the real question, while adults waffle, asking things like \u201cWhat is the higher purpose of my life?\u201d or \u201chow can I be happy?\u201d Every now and then we hear it asked honestly, by a friend who has been abused, had a family member die, or has been diagnosed with disease. \u201cWhere is God?\u201d Interestingly enough, I\u2019ve often heard the question asked by our modern atheists. They\u2019ll deny his existence fervently while life is good, they\u2019ll laugh at his laws and continue having sex with their girlfriends, but when 9\/11 happens, when the Virginia Tech shootings happen, suddenly God exists enough to be accused. Where was God? It seems that we can\u2019t stop looking, even when we don\u2019t believe there is anything to look for.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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<\/a>As Catholics, we are enormously privileged in regards to this oft-asked question. Think back to your rosaries, think back to the scripture of The Finding in the Temple. In a very real and tangible way, Mary and Joseph are asking; where is God? They left the Passover feasts, returning home to Nazareth to find that Jesus was no longer with them. Moving away from the literal interpretation of the passage and towards a more personal view, a beautiful truth is revealed. We to often go through periods of great feasting. We\u2019ve all had \u2013 and we all will have \u2013 moments of intimacy with the Lord. We\u2019ve periods of satisfying and\u00a0fulfilling\u00a0prayer. We\u2019ve had weeks, months, perhaps even years of our lives that we\u2019ve let our God guide and shape. We\u2019ve been on retreats, heard God, felt God. We\u2019ve lived well. But when we are walking away from that, when God asks us to turn back to our \u00a0home towns, our daily existence, we often are shocked. Suddenly God seems absent. Where is God? That peace that once filled us evaporates in the face of a sinful and convoluted world, and our ears close shut to the whisper of the Holy Spirit in fear of being deafened by the millions of throbbing distractions our lives and our culture offer us.<\/p>\n