Fox News contributor Father Jonathan Morris assured the victims of Hurricane Florence that the storm is part of "God's purpose" during an interview on Fox and Friends over the weekend.
On Sunday, Fox News host Ed Henry asked Morris to comment on the suffering that has been inflicted on the victims of Hurricane Florence during a segment titled "Where is God in a hurricane?"
"Whether it's a hurricane or some other hurricane-like reality in our lives, we get to a point where we say, 'Gosh, where is God?'" Morris explained. "I think it's because we spend a lot of our lives collecting security blankets. We get a nice home, we get money, we get a job, we get friends around us… security blankets to make sure we're going to be ok
"But as we get older, especially in old and sickness or in a situation like this, a Hurricane, all of those security blankets get tossed out."
Morris goes on to claim that during those times, we "can become better people and focus on our relationship with God and our purpose for existing or else we become bitter and we just lose all hope.
"If you build your house on sand, if you believe that fame, money, reputation—all of those things—is the meaning of your existence, you can't help but get bitter," the priest said.
Fox News host Katie Pavlich then mentions the mother and her baby who were killed by Florence after a tree fell on their home and pointed out that firefighters "immediately turned to prayer."
"This was their first instinct after they came to the scene and this horrific thing happened," she said, as the segment showed a clip a group of firefighters with their heads down in silence.
"How do people keep their faith when it feels like the whole world is crumbling?" Pavlich asked Morris.
Morris responds by saying that the victims and those affected by Florence are "saying 'God, please give us meaning.' And I believe there is meaning. I believe there is life after death. I believe there is salvation and redemption offered to us if we accept that.
"And of course, innocent life like this, a child, we can have great confidence that God, of course, will have mercy and that there is hope, there is life after dead. So many people say in a situation like this, 'Gosh, so many people came to my aid.' That is also tapping into God's purpose for situations like this."
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