God-incidence

Many events in our lives seem random, unguided and meaningless, completely by chance. Whether they affect us positively or negatively is attributed to good or bad luck. This practice has been done for as long as humanity has considered such things. The ancient Romans believed in a deity of luck, Fortuna. Japanese mythology has Seven Lucky Gods, and Hindus often pray for good fortune from their deity of money and luck, Lakshmi. The Irish four leaf clover is often a symbol for luck, and esoteric practices such as numerology, astrology, and palmistry depend on the luck afforded by one's spiritual station in the cosmos.

Luck is, however, contradictory to the religious mind, especially that of a Christian. By attributing an event to random chance, we remove God's dominion over all things, and we also deny the free will and independance of people. Nothing happens for a reason - there are no coincidences, only God-incidences, as a friend of mine is fond of saying. As the Lord, the King of the universe, everything that occurs in His Creation must be purposed and meaningful, and must ultimately meet up with His desires. And in His omniscience, while simultaneously giving people free will, He also knows the future and the effects of our actions, giving Him the ability to make our choices mean something and have a purpose even against our own intentions.

The assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, while terrible, involved a miracle, a test of the Pope's forgiveness, and a sign to the world of the beauty of forgiveness. As he said: "Could I forget that the event [Ali Ağca's assassination attempt] in St. Peter's Square took place on the day and at the hour when the first appearance of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants has been remembered for over sixty years at Fátima, Portugal? For in everything that happened to me on that very day, I felt that extraordinary motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet." —Pope John Paul II -Memory & Identity, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005, p.184

Nothing is outside God's purposes, even evil, which as the Book of Job and Christ's temptations in the desert illustrates are tests of our spiritual fortitude and, if suffered, builds character and is rewarded with grace. In our daily lives, as we experience pain, temptation, our own sin and the sins of others, we are called to suffer them for Christ's sake, to remain good and faithful despite our troubles. Many experience pain, but few truly suffer. Satan offers us sin as a temporary salve to our pain and so we prefer it over suffering. This is the test we are presented with on a daily basis, in even the smallest things. But Satan is not outside God's control; he does nothing without God's permission, which He gives to test us. The smallest gifts as well, simple comforts and daily rewards, are also given by God, both for consolation, thankfulness to Him, and reciprocal generosity to others.

In a deeper, more philosophical sense, luck is an attitude that creates a worldview. It often leads to the Platonic, Lutheran and Gnostic error that God has nothing to do with this world, which is itself wholly evil and worthless, incapable of showing any sign of God's divinity or salvation. By attributing events to random chance, we are saying that the nature of things, the arrangement of the world, the occurance of events and the Church Herself is random. But in truth, nothing in this universe is random. In truth, things could be different than they are. There are infinite other ways this world, history and humanity could be - yet, there is only one way. And the specific nature and condition of things is like the stylistic signs of an artist represented through the artwork. By deciphering the living spiritual symbolism in the world, by philosophically, conscientiously and scientifically examining life and ourselves, illuminated by Revelation, we can gain a mirror-image glimpse of the Face of God, revealed as His Son, the Logos - meaning, purpose, intention - of all Creation.