How could God let this Happen?

“How could God let this happen?”

“No, no, no,” Mendoza wagged a finger, “That is not the right question. You say they will be poor. You say they will suffer. But I, myself, have taken vows of poverty. I am from a country that is still mocked for its poverty. I know every ugly face of poverty. I know what I’m talking about.”

Sensing there was more, Ranell craned his neck forward, listening intently.

Mendoza’s face radiated with intensity. “They are no longer your employees, Josef. They are God’s people. They always were, and they always will be. We all suffer. This is the human condition. But now you have run your race and done your duty.”

Ranell could feel some invisible weight sliding off him. “If that’s not the right question, Father,” he stopped walking and brought his hands to cover tear filled eyes, “what is?”

Mendoza pressed his lips together tightly, fortifying himself before answering. “You must ask if it is time to let go.”

Ranell knew the answer to that question. He wept.