True Peace

 

November 12, 2024

True Peace

St. Josemaria Institute Christ the King

 Hi!  How is each and every one? On November 24, last Sunday of this month of November, we will be celebrating The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus, the King of the Universe.   From the homily of St. Josemaria on this Solemnity of Christ the King in Christ is Passing By, we read:  The liturgical year is coming to a close and in the holy sacrifice of the altar we renew the offering of the victim to the Father—the offering of Christ, the king of justice, love and peace, as we shall read shortly in the preface. You all experience a great joy in your souls as you consider the sacred humanity of our Lord.  He is a king with a heart of flesh, like yours; he is the author of the universe and of every creature, but he does not lord it over us.  He begs us to give him a little love, as he silently shows us his wounds.

Why then do so many people not know him?  Why do we still hear that cruel protest:  “We do not want this man to reign over us”?  There are millions of people in the world who reject Jesus Christ in this way; or rather they reject his shadow, for they do not know Christ. They have not seen the beauty of his face, they do not realize how wonderful his teaching is.  This sad state of affairs makes me want to atone to our lord.  When I hear that endless clamor—expressed more in ignoble actions than in words—I feel the need to cry out, “He must reign!”

You and I will get to know Jesus more and more in our personal dialogue with Him in prayer during the quiet moments we have set to meet Him to talk to Him and to listen to what He wants to tell us that you and I would also be happy to heed.  Let us take good care of our personal relationship with Jesus throughout the day, serving Him and loving Him in whatever we are doing and making sure we do all things well just as Jesus was known for “He has done all things well.”

Following is the continuation of the chapter on our divine longing for peace (From Broken Gods, Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart, Gregory K. Popcak, Ph. D. Ch 6).

Peace:  The Longing Defined

As much as we desire peace, we are often confused about what it actually is. Ask a hundred people to tell you what they mean when they pray “Lord, give me peace!” and most will tell you that they just want to be left alone, to stop having to put up with all the stress and drama of the world.  But avoidance isn’t true peace.  Avoiding problems and struggles can, at best, result in quiet, which can be understood as merely the absence of conflict.  And although quiet has its place, it is not the same thing as peace.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way:  Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries.  Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity.  Peace is “the tranquility of order.”  Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity (CCC, no. 2304).

 

 True peace takes work, sometimes hard work.  It requires us to say the things that need to be said, to work for justice, to make sure people are treated with dignity and respect, and to ensure both my needs and yours are met in a manner that respects our common good.

Peace Versus Justice:  The Difference

While there is some degree of overlap between the divine longing for justice and the divine longing for peace, there is an important distinction.  The divine longing for justice enables us to become aware of the disorder around us and desire to take some sort of action to correct it.  The divine longing for peace empowers us to sustain our effort, to evaluate our progress, to adjust course as necessary, and to develop new strategies as needed.  If we were to imagine going on a voyage to a distant land across the sea, the divine longing for justice is what gets our ship to leave the harbor in the first place, while the divine longing for peace keeps us on course toward our destination and prevents us from turning around and going back home when the going gets tough.

Divinization and the Divine longing for Peace

Of course, the divine longing for peace doesn’t just point to harmony in this world.  It also reminds us that true harmony will not be achieved until we have fulfilled our destiny through divinization.  Our ability to experience ultimate peace, the peace that this world cannot give (Jn 14:27), depends on our pursuit of authentic union with God.  St Augustine once asked, “What good is peace in the world if we are at war with ourselves?” (Thigpen, 2001).

As Augustine’s question suggests, even if we were able to resolve all of the world’s problems (including the tensions in our own lives), if we were not able to achieve the unity within ourselves that can come only from having achieved union with God, our divine longing for peace would remain unsatisfied.  True peace—especially the peace that comes from our quest to become the gods we were created to be—requires commitment, a sustained effort, and that’s where things often break down.

Opus Dei today

 You might want to read through the 12 tips for finding Peace (opusdei.org).

The Founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaria, in his search for peace, had frequent recourse to our Lady. In Mary we can find, first of all, interior peace for ourselves, and then peace for those around us. “Holy Mary is the Queen of peace, and thus the Church invokes her. So when your soul or your family are troubled, or things go wrong at work, in society or between nations, cry out to her without ceasing with this title: Regina pacis, ora pro nobis – Queen of peace, pray for us. Have you at least tried it when you have lost your calm? You will be surprised at its immediate effect.” (Furrow, no. 474).

At this point I am encouraged to share with you the following Oratio imperata for peace.

Oratio imperata for Peace

God our Heavenly Father, Lord of peace and justice, we humbly come before you during this time of escalating geopolitical tensions in our part of the world.

Through the years you have sustained our faith in you as a nation. It is our faith in Your Divine providence that has made us survive the countless natural and human-caused calamities that have come our way in our history as a people. Spare us, Lord, from the horrors of war. Hear our pleas as we cry out to You. Have mercy on us, Lord; rescue us from the malevolent forces that influence world leaders. For we believe, that “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12).

We pray for our leaders entrusted with making crucial decisions for our nation. We place all our hopes in You, seeking Your forgiveness and mercy for the times when our fears and suspicions have tainted our perceptions with ethnic biases and prejudices verging on racism. 

We earnestly pray Lord that you “make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred let us bring love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy.”

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. AMEN.

Our Lady, Queen of peace, pray for us.

St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

St. Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.

St. Pedro Calungsod, pray for us.

(Diocesan patron)…, pray for us.

 See you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us together again.”

Affectionately,                    

Guadalupinky