For the past two weeks, the world has watched, with sadness and concern, the tragic images of devastation from the largest natural disaster in recorded human history.

The images will be part of our memories forever. In my column this week, I shall use some of those images for the purpose of reflecting on some basic teachings of revelation and spirituality.

My goal is to help the reader better appreciate the gifts of God and to understand more accurately the challenges God presents to us.

1) FAMILY

Image Children in shock and fear looking for their parents, sisters and brothers, their extended family members, their homes. Parents looking for their children, each other and searching for everything they once held precious. Grandparents leaving the safety of their countries and homes that were unaffected by the disaster and travelling into danger so they could search for their children and grandchildren.

Reflection There is little disagreement that family, as a creation of God and as the basic unit of society, is being undermined throughout the world. People are even beginning to see family as optional.

The images of the natural disaster show a much different picture. They show a natural bonding intended by God in which the members of the nuclear and extended family are so fundamentally related to each other that separation has traumatic effects on individuals and the family as a group.

Of course, violent separation on a massive scale, which is what happened in this disaster, has an enormous impact on everyone. The victims are already searching for new families.

Family, as a communion of persons and a sign of the life of the Trinity, is the setting in which people experience love, a sense of belonging and begin to develop a self image that they will carry for the rest of their lives.

The images of the natural disaster give us the opportunity to reflect on the teaching of Scripture and the Church on the family, to look at the quality of life in our own families and to appreciate family as a gift of God.

2) SOLIDARITY

Image The international community collaborating on many levels to care for the people who have survived the disaster and to help them to rebuild their lives, homes, villages and nations. The verbal agreement of forces in military conflict in some of the countries to suspend conflict until disaster relief reaches the people.

Reflection Theologically, there is a solidarity among all people because they all have the same Creator and are all ordered to the Creator's glory. Solidarity involves the sharing of material and spiritual goods. It is the means through which socio-economic problems can be resolved and the full development of all humanity can be achieved.

The social doctrine of the Church tries to encourage the development of a culture of solidarity in which the needs of the poor, the marginalised and refugees are addressed along with facilitating the inclusion of poor countries in the global economy. Solidarity requires the international community to face the issues of Foreign Debt, the Arms Race, Corruption, Trafficking in Drugs, Money Laundering, the Culture of Death and Immigration. All these social justice issues and many more are examined in the soon to be released English edition of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church .

Is it not possible to build on the present willingness of the international community to collaborate to pursue the challenges of solidarity?

3) THE PRESENCE OF EVIL

Image Young children, separated from family by the disaster, being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. Many websites have appeared whose purpose is to steal donations given by sincere, generous but unsuspecting people to help the victims of the disaster.

Reflection In Scripture and the Church's Tradition, the presence and universality of evil and sin in the world is well documented. In his Message for World Day of Peace, the Holy Father looked at the issue of evil and said that evil is not a deterministic, impersonal force. Evil has a name and face.

We can apply that teaching to the post-disaster reality. Individuals are kidnapping the children. Individuals are selling them into sexual slavery. Individuals are stealing donations. These individuals have names and faces. Their evil actions are the result of their free decisions.

Our response to evil should not be discouragement or surrender. We know that the power of evil is not unlimited. Redeemed humanity is capable of resisting it. Redeemed humanity is capable of replacing systemic evil with systemic goodness. The journey to make it happen will be long, great patience will be needed, but the goal is possible to achieve.

Our personal response to evil should be a confident faith in the power of the cross and the resurrection. It should alert us to the existence of Satan and the potential of evil to disorder human actions. It should encourage us to be a people of prayer which protects us from the dangers of pride and selfishness that lead us to evil. Our response to evil should be to trust in the love of God and in the protective power of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

Most people allow images to influence their lives without much thought. Advertising depends on that reaction. I have linked each of the three images with a brief reflection to help people think about what they have seen and what they will remember.

It is my hope that the linkage will help the reader appreciate the value of family, the vital importance of solidarity and the need to face the ever present and very active reality of evil with a confident calmness that flows from faith.