Wednesday, August 12, 2026From the news

God's Refuge Amid the Shaking Earth

In the wake of Colombia's devastating earthquake, Psalm 46 reminds us that God is our ever-present help, offering comfort to the mourning and strength to those who suffer.

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea; though its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at their surging. The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

Psalm 46:1-3

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pause together this day and turn our hearts to our suffering kin in Colombia. The news from that beautiful land pierces us: a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on Monday morning, shaking cities like Cali and Pereira to their foundations. More than 180 lives have been lost, with fears the toll may rise above 240. Nearly 2,600 are injured, 200 remain missing under rubble, and over 1,100 homes lie in ruins, forcing thousands to spend fearful nights outdoors amid aftershocks. Rescue workers toil tirelessly, sifting through collapsed buildings in Bolívar Square and beyond, while mayors urge calm against rumors that only heighten the shock. President Abelardo de la Espriella has declared a state of emergency, and offers of aid pour in from neighbors like Ecuador and Brazil, from Spain seeking its missing citizens, even from afar. In this chaos, families huddle, hearts aching for the lost, the trapped, the homeless.

We feel the weight of it, don't we? That raw terror when the ground itself betrays us, when what seemed solid crumbles in an instant. Yet in this very moment of trembling earth, the Lord draws near with words that have steadied souls for millennia. Hear the assurance of Psalm 46: 'God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.' Imagine those Colombian rescuers, faces etched with exhaustion, listening to cries beneath the debris—their hands, guided by compassion, become instruments of God's own refuge. The psalm reminds us: even as waters rage and structures totter, 'The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.' He who calmed the storm on Galilee stands unshaken now, closer than our very breath.

Jesus Himself echoes this comfort in the Beatitudes, proclaiming, 'Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.' To the grieving mothers in Pereira clutching photos of the missing, to the children wide-eyed in makeshift camps, to all whose world has fractured—take heart. Our Savior wept at Lazarus' tomb; He knows your tears. And St. Paul deepens this promise: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction.' See how this unfolds even now: international solidarity mirrors the corporal works of mercy, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick. The Catechism teaches us the dignity of every human person, forged in God's image, calls us to this unity—rich and poor, Colombian and stranger, bound in Christ's love.

In the Catholic tradition, we turn too to Mary, our Mother of Sorrows, who stood beneath the cross amid unimaginable quake of heart. Her fiat amid trial teaches trust: 'Let it be done.' She intercedes for Colombia today, wrapping her mantle around the afflicted. And beyond the pain, we rest in the hope of Resurrection. Those 181 souls—and any more the Lord calls home—are not lost; they live in the Father's embrace, where no earthquake reaches. For us left behind, this suffering, as St. Paul says, prepares us to share in glory that far outweighs it.

Let us then, dear friends, hold space for this pain without rushing past it. Pray for the rescuers' steady hands, the leaders' wisdom, the aid's swift arrival. And let God's presence console you in your own hidden shakings. He is near. He is enough. Together, we are His refuge for one another.