Fate? Destiny?
Fr. Ascânio - A Christian soul does not use this barbaric language: “It's fate!... a chance!... inevitable fate!” And what about Providence?
Original in portuguese here.
Fortuity/Luck/Chance/Fate does not exist. It is a meaningless, empty word, the secularization of Providence, used by wicked hearts that want to rid themselves of submission, prayer, and acknowledgment. A Christian soul does not use this barbaric language: “It's fate!... a chance!... inevitable fate!” And what about Providence? Divine Providence! Oh! So many people who claim to be devout and pious, yet believe, like pagans, in a blind destiny! Man accepts fate because he is unaware of the Divine combinations and plans in which everything, everything, has been providentially prepared. As Joseph de Maistre aptly said, chance is the unknown of Providence. “Let us convince ourselves,” wrote Mgr. Gay, “that if, in the midst of so many accidents of every kind with which life is filled, we could recognize the will of God, we would not condemn our Angels to see in us so many disrespectful admirations, so many unfounded scandals, so many unjust angers, so many insulting discouragements to God, alas! and so many despairing moments that often put us at risk of losing ourselves.” Divine Providence! Divine Providence! Your ways, Lord, are hidden, and your designs, mysterious!