Episode Details

Patrick Madrid opens up after the heart-shattering Texas floods that took the lives of many: including two young Catholic girls found holding their Rosaries. This isn’t a tidy theology talk; it’s a gut-wrenching, faith-clinging, grief-soaked conversation about why God allows suffering, and how we hold on when life falls apart.

The Caller: Cecile from Bryan, Texas

Cecile calls in, her heart cracked wide open. Her nephew just lost his best friend, his wife, and their two children. His question is one we all ask eventually: “How could God let this happen?”

Patrick doesn’t pretend to have the magic answer. In fact, his first move is humility:

“There is no answer that will make this okay. Not now.”

But what he does offer is one of the most compassionate and theological walk-throughs of the “Problem of Evil” you’ll ever hear in Catholic media.

Key Takeaways: 

God Is Not the Author of Evil

Evil, whether moral (caused by free will choices) or natural (like floods, cancer, etc.), was never part of God’s original design.

These came through the Fall: a ripple effect from the sin of Adam and Eve that distorted creation itself.

Natural Disasters Are Part of a Broken World

Nature itself is “off” because of sin. 

But this isn’t a cosmic punishment; it's a sign that we’re living in a world still groaning for redemption (Romans 8:22).

God Doesn’t Just “Allow” Suffering... He Entered Into It

The ultimate answer to suffering isn’t a what, it’s a who: Jesus on the Cross.

God didn’t stay distant. He became a man and suffered with us, for us.

A Father’s Heart