Pope Francis says, “Jesus always knows how to walk with us, he gives us the ideal, he accompanies us towards the ideal, he frees us from being locked into the rigidity of the law and he tells us: ‘Do this to the extent that you can.’ And he understands us well. This is our Lord, it is he who teaches us. Allow me to share a term with you which might seem a bit strange, it is the little holiness of negotiation: I cannot do everything, but I want to do everything, I am going to agree with you, at least let us not insult one another, let us not make war and let us live together in peace.”
When we hear challenging passages from Scripture, we might be tempted to say, “What Jesus really meant to say…” and then we change the message to something that sounds more like what we think God wants us to do. For people who pride themselves on sticking tightly to the rules of the Church, messages of God’s mercy and tolerance often seem disorienting. We want to be right more than we want to be reconciled. We want to believe that we’re saved and others are damned. We like our world black and white. For Pope Francis, reflecting on the words and following in the way of Jesus, reconciliation is the better choice, even if it means bending our self-righteousness a bit. There’s an old saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” If we focus on finding common ground with one another, we’re less likely to end up in irreconcilable disputes. We might never come around to another’s point of view completely, but both sides may move closer to the middle through what the pope calls “the little holiness of negotiation.”
“Thus sin renders the soul miserable, weak and torpid, inconstant in doing good, cowardly in resisting temptation, slothful in the observance of God’s commandments. It deprives her of true liberty and of that sovereignty which she should never resign; it makes her a slave to the world, the flesh, and the devil; it subjects her to a harder and more wretched servitude than that of the unhappy Israelites in Egypt or Babylon. Sin so dulls and stupefies the spiritual senses of man that he is deaf to God’s voice and inspirations; blind to the dreadful calamities which threaten him; insensible to the sweet odor of virtue and the example of the saints; incapable of tasting how sweet the Lord is, or feeling the touch of His benign hand in the benefits which should be a constant incitement to his greater love. Moreover, sin destroys the peace and joy of a good conscience, takes away the soul’s fervor, and leaves her an object abominable in the eyes of God and His saints. The grace of justification delivers us from all these miseries. For God, in His infinite mercy, is not content with effacing our sins and restoring us to His favor; He delivers us from the evils sin has brought upon us, and renews the interior man in his former strength and beauty. Thus He heals our wounds, breaks our bonds, moderates the violence of our passions, restores with true liberty the supernatural beauty of the soul, reestablishes us in the peace and joy of a good conscience, reanimates our interior senses, inspires us with ardor for good and a salutary hatred of sin, makes us strong and constant in resisting evil, and thus enriches us with an abundance of good works. In fine, He so perfectly renews the inner man with all his faculties that the Apostle calls those who are thus justified new men and new creatures.”— Venerable Louis Of Grenada, p. 46
“And so the idea of peace came down to do the work of peace: The Word was made flesh and even now dwells among us. It is by faith that he dwells in our hearts, in our memory, our intellect and penetrates even into our imagination. What concept could man have of God if he did not first fashion an image of him in his heart? By nature incomprehensible and inaccessible, he was invisible and unthinkable, but now he wished to be understood, to be seen and thought of. But how, you ask, was this done? He lay in a manger and rested on a virgin’s breast, preached on a mountain, and spent the night in prayer. He hung on a cross, grew pale in death, and roamed free among the dead and ruled over those in hell. He rose again on the third day, and showed the apostles the wounds of the nails, the signs of victory; and finally in their presence he ascended to the sanctuary of heaven. How can we not contemplate this story in truth, piety and holiness?”— St. Bernard, p. 186
Is it possible to experience peace, and live it spiritually, when things in your life seem to be imploding?
Yes. Not only can you remain in peace yourself, you can bring it to others—regardless of your circumstances.
Sacred Scripture repeatedly calls us to be at peace. Here is one particular verse:
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
Such interior peace does not depend on the absence of conflict, strife, or suffering. It is completely unrelated to the events taking place in our lives. It exists at such a deep and soulful level—an otherworldly level—that it remains untouched by whatever swirls around us.
Yes, in the midst of our greatest sufferings, we can still have this peace of soul, this biblical peace. It is a peace that we come to know, over time, as we learn to entrust every circumstance of our lives to the Lord.
Every. Single. One.
Suffering Is Not Wasted
Have you ever heard the saying “God uses everything”? I have recognized and lived this truth many times in my life, but perhaps most powerfully in the last five years—for it is in these last five years that Our Lord has begun to teach me so much more about His peace.
It all began when one of my children was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The shock and fear of that moment—and the many shocks that followed—are something I can’t describe, but anyone who has gone through moments like these can understand.
The last five years have been difficult, at times threatening our peace in every way imaginable. Yet we are still persevering, and still hoping, as our daughter continues to struggle with a disease that doctors say is incurable.
Sometimes peace comes so naturally; sometimes it comes moment by moment. But I know it is there for me, and I rest in it every day of my life. I see it growing from faith and hope and from the charity of wonderful prayer warriors, who sustain and accompany my family during this time.
Here are six things that I have found necessary for finding and keeping interior peace:
1. Know what (and Who) peace truly is.
The peace with which God wants to fill our hearts is not strictly found in a weekend getaway, a stroll on the beach, or a day off from a difficult schedule. Those getaways are indeed important—they encourage us to enter into an atmosphere of serenity, which makes it easier for us to seek interior silence and to hear His voice. When we seek to establish peace and organization in our home, for example, the more interior soul-level peace we can experience. Calm surroundings help us focus on Him, not on life’s difficulties.
At the same time, we should not confuse a peaceful atmosphere with the peace God wants to give us. This peace—which only He can give—is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Now this gift does not mean that we will be entirely calm and serene all the time, or that we will never experience emotions brought about by weariness, sadness, grief, fear, or anxiety. At the same time, we should not assume that because our emotions get the best of us, we are incapable of the supernatural gift of peace—or that we do not have it at all.
We will, at times, be fearful and anxious. It is part of our human nature. The key is to be vigilant over our emotions and refuse to let them carry us away. We must offer them to God when things are challenging, and directly ask Him for His peace. Because peace is not a thing. It is a person. Jesus Christ. Only through intimacy with Him will we ever truly find it.
2. Defend your daily peace if you want biblical peace.
We must do everything we can to defend our daily peace—every day—unceasingly. Some of the “noise of the world” is inevitable. We cannot escape it. It is part of living in this age. But it’s important to recognize that we are actually choosing some of this noise for ourselves!
It does not please the Lord if we are so busy running around, helping everyone, and doing everything, that we are frantic all day long with no time to seek or acknowledge Him. It doesn’t delight Him if we become so overwrought by the problems of our loved ones that we don’t remember to give these problems to Him and rest securely in that.
Prudent choices about how far to extend ourselves, and when to detach ourselves, are important to keeping our peace. We are called to charity, selflessness, and generosity, but if we overextend that without prudence, we are responsible for giving away our own peace.
A quiet mind is essential to finding and keeping your peace. Look at the things you choose to prioritize during your day. If time with Christ isn’t one of them, what can you set aside in favor of more quiet time to rest in Him? How will we find Him if we are not actively looking for Him by clearing space (in our hearts, minds, and calendars) to meet Him?
Time in prayerful communion with God is the best kind of quiet. If that is missing from your life, start today. Sit quietly for ten minutes, talking to Him, thanking and praising Him, and asking for His peace. That is a beginning.
Make time for things that calm your mind. Disconnect from what fills it with “noise.”
3. Recall what He has done in the past so that you can keep trusting Him with the future.
Psalm 77:1 says, “I will recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, recall your wonders of old.”
In order to have peace, we must practice trusting God, over and over again, until it becomes natural and constant for us. We know how much He loves us, and how much He desires for us. He gave everything in order to demonstrate that love.
The Lord is particularly glorified when we entrust everything to Him in the midst of a disorienting and debilitating situation. We do not have to know the mind of God or understand why He permits something in order to entrust Him with our cares. Seeing our trust and obedience in the face of devastating uncertainty gives great glory to God. It allows Him to open a portal to us for greater grace and peace.
Trust does not come naturally to most of us. Relinquishing everything to Christ is an act of the will. We cannot perfect this disposition without willing ourselves to surrender everything to Him over and over again, constantly, until it becomes second nature.
When you are tempted to try and take back what you have given to the Lord, remember His works throughout salvation history; throughout your own life; and throughout the lives of your loved ones. What He has done before, He can do again, and then some. His power is unlimited, as is His mercy and love.
4. Live a life of praise.
Try praising God for every “little miracle,” even as you are praying for greater things. The little things can be as seemingly insignificant: a beautiful day, a patch of flowers seen on a walk, an unexpected visit from a friend.
Many times as we are suffering, the little things allow us to live a life of praise for—and glory in—our good God. Sometimes the big prayers remain unanswered, only to be addressed in His timing—but there are always little things that we can praise Him for.
Praise is a mantle of protection against the enemy. It prevents the evil one from getting a foothold on us. Remember, the devil wants to take away our hope. Without it we are laid bare as the most vulnerable prey to his tactics.
Sacred Scripture tells us that praise—which demonstrates hope—is a spiritual weapon in our arsenal.
On the mouths of children and infants, you have found praise to foil your enemy, to silence the foe and the rebel.
Psalm 8:2
In the beginning, it may feel forced and unnatural, but focus on finding things for which to praise God. Praise Him as constantly as you can, interiorly and even aloud.
5. Stay in the present moment.
Don’t get too far ahead. God gave us wisdom and knowledge, but only a finite amount of both. There’s a reason for that. He is God and we are not. He has already suffered for us, in order to make suffering redemptive and own it all. In this way, He shows us that He wants to be our peace.
Don’t give away your peace to your own imagination by getting too far ahead of yourself. You will be worrying about things that may not materialize and ruining this moment with the anxieties of the next. Stay in this present moment, live in it, and seek Him in it.
Trust Him as He stretches and readies you along the way, so that He has time to prepare you for what comes next. Don’t seek what’s ahead before He has made you ready. He will lift the veil on the future a little at a time. Take comfort in that and don’t rush into things He has not yet prepared you to receive.
There are graces to be found in the smallest things if we are living in the moment. Worries and anxieties bind us if we are jumping into the future—at the expense of the graces in this moment, and peace in the next.
6. Have an expectant faith.
Even when you are frightened by the things in life that you can see, believe that God is with you. Believe that His will is perfect for you. Believe that He wants only what is best for you. Do not doubt God’s desire to bless you.
We glorify Him all the more when we have an expectant faith. It feeds our sense of hope and trust. These things lead us to interior peace even in the darkest circumstances. If we truly believe in His infinite love for us and His desire for us in heaven, we can live in the expectant faith that Jesus calls us to in Sacred Scripture.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace…
Hebrews 4:16
But how can we have an expectant faith when situations are truly devastating?
This is a question I have wrestled with over time. In these crises, we must go back to what we know, because there is so much that is unknowable to us in this life.
The Apostle Paul understood this well:
Therefore we are not discouraged; rather, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison, as we look not to what is seen, but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Are you experiencing great sufferings that seem insurmountable? The Beatitudes are Jesus’ promises for some of life’s most tragic situations. In each beatitude, His eternal promises bring graces in which we can trust and believe. His promises are the promises of heaven, not necessarily this of earthly life. As Christians, however, we know that these are the grandest, most incredible, and most important of all His promises.
It takes trust and strength of will to “see” eternally and wait for the Lord to bring graces from something tragic. But He has promised to accompany us with His mercy and love, so we must believe that, in time—if we stay faithful—graces will follow even the most devastating trials.
Final Thoughts
Peace is not simply a serene atmosphere that allows for temporary relief from anxieties. It is not merely a “state of mind” or a period of rest and tranquility. Those types of peace are transitory.
Peace is the person of Christ, in His permanence and love. He’s waiting for you to entrust everything to Him. Keep giving Him your cares and trusting in His promises, both here and in eternity, and you will find the peace and healing your soul craves.
May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way…
2 Thessalonians 3:16
What are some examples of practices that bring greater peace into your life?
What are some things that steal your daily peace or prevent you from feeling biblical peace?
Have you experienced a difficult situation that you consciously gave to God? What were the resulting graces and blessings?
As I pilgrimed through Assisi that morning, the town began to waken. Street cleaners and sanitation workers began their day. Innkeepers opened their doors and parents sent their children off to school. As the silent morning morphed into a busy day in which other pilgrims and tourists would soon fill the streets, I remembered the greeting that characterized Francis’s encounters, “May God give you peace” as I quietly blessed each recently awakened passerby. And so, as we embark with Francis on our daily pilgrimages in mystical activism, I pray, “May God give you peace” on the path you travel, and may your adventures be plentiful as you bring peace and healing to this good earth. Francis encouraged his companions to greet everyone with “May God give you peace.” Let that blessing fill your day. Whether spoken or silent, bless everyone you meet. Pray that every encounter brings peace and healing to the world. Experience your kinship with all creation, blessing the human and nonhuman world, including those you are tempted to curse. A life of blessing joins us with all creation and enables us to claim our vocation as God’s beloved companions one moment at a time.
We all want peace in the world. Saint John the Baptist made an epiphany by pointing the way to peace: “Behold the Lamb of God…the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.” That’s the way to peace. Always point the way to the Lord; not to some individual priest, but to the One in the Tabernacle. Priests come and go. Someday, I will take a dirt nap, okay? I might drive up onto a telephone guide wire and flip my car like what happened over on Montgomery Avenue the other day. I could get sick, and they’ll bring another guy in here. Also, contrary to popular belief, peace is not gotten by taking away someone’s stuff and giving it to somebody else. That has never worked in the history of the world. “Oh, if they only had more stuff they wouldn’t be bad.” Yeah, they would be…police lock up rich people too. It is not about stuff. It is sin that causes division in the soul and the self. Sin causes violence. Remember, in scripture, the three marks of the demonic or sin in the soul are: nudity/sex, self-mutilation, and violence. When a soul is in torment what does it do? It takes the torment out on everybody else. People say that criminals are misunderstood. No. It’s violence, an evil. “I’ll fight you all”…that’s evil in the soul.
God wants us to have peace, that’s why He sent His Son. Peace is a “Who” not a “what”. You’ve heard the line, “No justice, no peace.” Nah, justice is a virtue. Justice is a step toward the primary virtue which is possession by the All Mighty God. Peace means possessing and being possessed by Christ and having no sin in our soul. I just talked to a guy, a “Methhead,” in the ER over at the VA. He lied to me, and I expect that, so I don’t take it personally. In 12-step programs, reestablishing a relationship with the Creator is one of the first steps in releasing people from their addictions. Through sobriety, you can have peace in your soul. Where do they get this? They get it from the Church which points out the way to Christ. People say, “Father, there are a lot of unholy people in the Church.” That’s why they’re here…trying to work on it, okay? You are trying too, because you are here. We are all here trying to work on holiness. I say my prayers in my sweet little voice, because, I am a great sinner and need prayer. We all strive and struggle.to follow Him. As I said last week, if you have no sin, you don’t need to be here. People say, “Father, some priests aren’t perfect.” Well, nobody in the Church is perfect. But, Father, “people are always going to be that way.” I have never read anything about Mother Teresa going in and starting a bar fight. Have you? She could probably clear the place out…I’ll give her that. She was a tough little woman. But she never started a bar fight. Amazing! Mother Teresa possessed and was possessed with Christ in her soul. Jesus was her peace. Saint John didn’t go downtown to the Hells Angels’ clubhouse and beat up on clubhouse members, did he? No! Look at the saints; they did violence on themselves.
There’s no problem with what we believe, but in how we live. I work in a hospital a few days a week and have seen doctors with pot bellies. You would think they’d know that being overweight is not good for them, right? A couple of times, I have seen the doctors and nurses getting their lunch out of a vending machine….popcorn, candy, soda pop. Now, near as I can tell, there are no vegetables and salads in those vending machines! They know better. They have forgotten more things than I ever learned on their first day of school. It’s not that they don’t know it, but knowing and doing are two entirely separate things. It’s tough to live it. It might take me out of my comfort zone whatever that is; or I might have to give up a bad habit. We all struggle with the knowledge, but our Good Lord gives us the means to live it. He said, “Come and follow Me.” Do you know what “follow me” means in the New Testament? It’s not like little ducks and geese following their mother across the road. “Follow Me” means imitate Christ; imitate Me in My sufferings; join Me in My sufferings; imitate Me in My sacrifices; imitate Me in My teaching, imitate Me in My prayer, follow Me, do what I say. Do what I did, and you’ll get what I got. Follow Me to the cross. He teaches us exactly what we must do to be like Him and to have His peace. He gave us the means to peace in the Sacraments. No, there’s nothing wrong with the Faith, it’s just how we live it.
People say, “You are Catholic.” Yes, I am. They say, “Well you don’t do this, and you don’t do that.” I say, ”You know, you’re right…I’m working on it though, but thank you for reminding me.” Am I perfect? Not even my mother thought I was perfect. I have a lot of people reminding me of my imperfections. And that’s alright, they only see the visible ones, I have a lot more they don’t see. But, I know the Person who can help me change, and I can point you to that Person. That Person takes away my sins, absolutely, and He feeds me with the most precious body and blood. At every Mass, the Church uses these words when the priest lifts up the host and says, “Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to suffer of the Lamb.” Everybody is called to that suffering. Everyone.
Down here, a lot of people read John 3:16. Okay, how about John 6:53? Didn’t read that far down in the book, did ya? You have to read the whole book…not just part of the book…take the whole book. Christ said, “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” That means real meat and real drink. Don’t forget that part! This is the way to feast, and our Good Lord couldn’t be any clearer. I mean, when you are hungry, do you eat or just read a cookbook?
Our problem is that we aren’t perfect. We fall down a whole lot, but we get up again. Part of our baptismal promise is that we will always go back and follow Him. We know how to achieve peace, our Good Lord told us, and we’ve been doing it for the last 2,000 years. Peace is found in a “Who” and not a “what.” All we have to do is follow in His footsteps.
How will you apply this message to your life? When you fall, will you get back up and follow Him? If you need more peace, do you seek it in Him? Do you follow in His footsteps?
We often see around the church, especially during this political season, all these signs about “No Justice…No Peace.” If we don’t get justice, we’ll have no peace. But, that’s not true. It’s not true theologically. In the real world, you really don’t want justice….what you want is mercy. For example, if the cops give you a blue light special and write you an “I love Stanly County” donation/ticket, you might be a bit upset. “Oh! No, no, please…my mother’s sick!” You don’t want justice. But, justice is that you were speeding, so you got a citation, and you paid the fine. That’s justice. We don’t want justice, because when we get justice, we aren’t very happy at all. We want mercy which is the fullest expression of God’s love. The greatest experience of God’s love is when He forgives and forgets all of our sins. Those of us who may not have committed dreadful sins as others have…at least not yet…we have a gift for which we should be thanking God.
Spiritually, we have no idea how heinous and egregious our sins are. That’s why I visit the sick, because receiving Last Rites is so important. That’s also why it is essential to call a priest near the hour of someone’s death…preferably before that, while they’re still conscious…so they can talk. Sometimes, I get a call from the family…”Oh, they died two hours ago.” But, it’s too late…they’ve passed now. Those who get to receive Last Rites experience God’s mercy, and having had moments of terror all the way up to the moment of death, they can now be at peace. The Four Horsemen of death, war, plague and famine are gone. They got to experience God’s mercy at the time of their passing. They heard God’s words of love preached over them, and they had the chance to say, “I love you Lord and I’m sorry for everything I’ve done wrong.” And, that is sufficient because of God’s grace, even for those who have lived very colorful lives, and some of them have been quite colorful. But, now they have peace. I refer you to the poem by Francis Thompson, “The Hound of Heaven”…look it up. If you’ve never had an experience with the Four Horsemen, I pray that you never do. Pray for those who still see them.
Our Lord said from the Cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” This so-called demand for justice blinds us. Look at the workmen in the Gospel. These men were working, but were not grateful even though, by working, they had the ability to feed their wives and children. Almost everyone back then was married and had lots of children. These men had a chance to feed their families. Were they grateful to the man who hired them? “Hey…thank you for helping me feed my family!” Nope. But, those men standing around and who had not been hired were most grateful. They had been terrified all day thinking that they would have no money, no food…nothing…for their families and that their children would cry and their wives would complain. Instead, they experienced God’s great mercy. Until then, they had experienced the terror, fear, bewilderment, and darkness that occurs when the Four Horsemen come.
So, these men have been standing there all day…idle; they don’t have their own business, and they have no other source of income. They are day laborers, and they got hired. The Gospel related that none of them thanked the man for hiring them. Justice…it blinds us. It also causes a lack of compassion and self-centeredness. The men hired at the end of the day now have a chance to feed their families. They got a full day’s pay, so they were able to go home and feed their wives and children and provide them clothes. The other workmen did not care. They were not grateful for the opportunity to earn a day’s wage and feed their own families. These schmucks had no compassion for the suffering of the people dependent on those men. They also had no compassion for their interior agony. Again, our Lord’s words from the Cross were “My God, my God, why have You abandoned Me.” The Four Horsemen were with the men that day. They had been terrified they would have to go home to their wives and children with empty hands. The other guys couldn’t have cared less. And, they weren’t going to pony up some money for them. No, they just wanted more. “But, that’s justice!” No. You haven’t learned anything about this, have you. God reveals Himself through His mercy. The greatest experience of God’s love is the experience of His mercy, and that mercy is always spelled out for us. God’s mercy is where His love resides. There are two ways to experience the greatness of God’s love – by receiving His mercy and by never losing His love by sinning.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you stop insisting on justice and instead ask for His mercy? Will you pray for those who are dealing with the Four Horsemen?
