Peace Is What We Need…

Jesus' favorite word after his resurrection is "peace." It is almost always the first word on his lips when he appears to his apostles. Every time we celebrate Mass, we hear these same words, spoken to us in the here-and-now of our lives, right before we receive the living, resurrected body, and blood of our Lord in Holy Communion: "Lord Jesus Christ," the priest says, "you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you." Jesus did not give this peace before his resurrection, but afterwards he does give it, and he gives it because we need it.

Jesus’ peace is the antidote to most endemic diseases of modern, secular society: stress, depression, and anxiety. We have all been affected by these diseases. As our friendship with the resurrected Lord grows deeper, we are gradually healed of those diseases, because he brings us his three-fold peace.

First, peace for our mind…

When we look at his wounds, which he still bears in his glorified body, we know for certain that his forgiveness is everlasting; once he forgives our sins, we are truly forgiven; our conscience can be at rest.

Second, peace for our heart…

When we see the spike marks in his hands and feet, we know for certain that we are loved with an undying, unconditional, personal, determined love – Jesus’ love.

Third, peace for our soul…

Jesus is alive, and he is ruling and expanding an everlasting Kingdom, and he has invited each one of us to help him do this by building up the Church. We have work to do that matters, is worthwhile, and will satisfy our thirst for meaning. The peace of the resurrected Christ is what we really need.

The Psalmist put it well: "As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep, for you alone, O LORD, bring security to my dwelling.
We all want to experience this peace more deeply - peace of mind, heart, and soul and Jesus wants the same thing yet often we still find ourselves easily overrun by stress, anxiety, and discouragement. Many obstacles can inhibit the flow of Jesus’ peace in our lives. The most obvious one is sin. Sometimes we fall into sin out of weakness. These falls are easy to confess and repent of but other times we allow subtle habits of sin to take root in our lives. For example, we refuse to accept some part of Church teaching on faith or morals - like Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist, abortion, or gay marriage. Sure, we find plenty of reasons to justify this resistance - all the arguments we hear on the news, for instance. But at heart, to reject official Church teaching on these issues (which we find in the Catechism), is to reject Jesus’ saving truth. It is like telling God we trust him a little bit, in some things, but we trust CBC or CTV more in other things.

Subtle habits of sin can also take other forms: like slacking off in our life responsibilities - just doing enough to get by, but not really giving our best; or wasting inordinate amounts of time on hobbies, entertainment, or gossip. Sinful habits can also take not-so-subtle forms such as financial or material corruption.

If we are not experiencing the peace of Jesus’ resurrected life a little bit more each season, maybe we need to do some spring cleaning in our souls and for this the best disinfectant is confession. As Jesus renews his hope during this Easter season, let us renew our hope in him too, and ask for the grace to receive the peace Jesus offers us.

God Bless,

Deacon John