Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org

Published on Monday, 18 September 2023

The Titanic… a reflection on the 21st century events

Munir Bayouk/ en.abouna.org :

The word "titanic" is an English-language word, which means something possessing exceptional strength, size, or power. This word was chosen over a hundred years to refer to a gigantic ship that served at the time as a model for a unique, advanced, and highly sophisticated liner which contained all the facilities needed  for thousands of people who wished to cross the seas in an atmosphere of extreme joy and ease. This luxury ship was assumed to be firmly invincible in the face of huge sea waves and hardships that could be encountered though navigation.

 

On its maiden voyage, all the passengers trusted the reports indicating that this was the safest ever ship on Earth, yet the following developments proved otherwise. It was the most famous shipwreck in history as the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.  With no pains were spared to supply this luxurious first-class ocean liner, including fewer lifeboats in order to provide more deck room for passengers to lounge and play, out of 2,228 passengers only 705 survived. This liner, which was thought to be unsinkable, failed the first test on the fourth day of the trip as she approached a massive iceberg. While attempting to divert its course, a giant rip was torn parallel across the ship's bulk.

 

The people on board the ship trusted in their own inventions and in human advanced capabilities, yet they did not trust in the Almighty Lord whose invincible powers showed His mercy through the miracles as He conducted innumerable miracles that have been witnessed all the time and everywhere. The Holy Bible states, "For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me.” (Psalm 44:6)

 

It is noticed that most of the time, people rely on their mental and physical abilities while ignoring the fact that no matter how potent they are the Lord is omnipotent. This is the reason attributed to the disasters afflicting humanity over the years with people looking for solutions but to no avail.

 

The events relevant to  the "Titanic" are reminiscent of the current global affairs befalling humanity, as the current events are not different from those that took place in the past where the world stands to be a ship that crashes into a violent wall. The Titanic of the 21st century keeps reverberating in various forms marked by the spread of diseases that resist medications including corona, wars, famines, unemployment and social problems with climate change whose disastrous ramifications is in the offing including the floods that devastated parts of Libya and the mammoth earthquake that wreaked havoc on Morocco causing thousands of losses in human life and property.

 

As the Titanic vessel sank on its maiden trip, the entire world is facing "titanic" disasters. It is important in this regard to plead with world leaders to reconsider the current world affairs and to keep the world safe and free from falling into the abyss of total destruction.

 

The definite solution needed to extricate humanity from the current prevailing imbroglio is to trust in the Lord and revert to the Lord's mercy when considering all forms of deeds. The Holy Bible states, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12: 12)