Peace be with you… You might hear this phrase during Mass but do you use it outside of church. The word peace carries a greater meaning than the casual peace we speak of in our daily conversations. When I hear the word peace … I think of the 60′s when there was the peace and love movement. I see people throwing up their hands in the familiar V sign. It’s the answer to the beauty pageant competition question, “I want world peace”. What comes to mind when you hear of word PEACE?
This weekend I heard the Mass in Spanish. Some of the words don’t translate easily into English and to be honest with you, my Spanish is not very good looking. However I can give you the gist. Father Elio explained how we downplayed the word peace. So many of us use it as a way to say we are annoyed. Leave me in peace. We can throw up the peace sign when we get to the … Let us show each other the sign of Peace. While the sentiment is there, can such a simple display of our fingers encompass the true meaning of the Peace of the Lord?
May the Peace of the Lord be with you …and with your spirit. When we think of Peace here we should be thinking of that tranquil feeling you get when we keep the Lord in our lives. There is a peace of knowing that he is with us always, watching over us and guiding us, like Fathers do. There is a peace in knowing that anything we attempt to do in our lives is possible with His help. When we ask for peace, or to be left in peace we should be talking about the calmness of our soul. The feeling of being safe and secure because we are at peace with our spirit. Do you feel the peace of the Lord?
I can attest that my life did not feel like I was on the right course until I let go and let God. This is a saying I have heard all my life but I didn’t always understand what it meant. If you know me, even a little bit, you know that I try and control every aspect of my life. In my late teens and half of my twenties, I was so frustrated that things were not going AT ALL like I had planned. We put forth so much effort sometimes to have things just so. Life has a way of making us feel like our efforts are wasted. If we let go of the control and we give our troubles to God, it’ll be O.K. It’s as simple as saying Lord, I know that things are making me nervous in my life right now, but I give you my worries and will let You do Your thing. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Give up my control? Once I did it though, there was a peace I cannot describe to you unless you yourself have also let go and let God. You feel a weight lifted off your chest and you’re able to breathe easier. Do you know what I mean?
Can you feel the division in today’s Gospel?
What’s the first thing to come to mind when you think of the word PEACE?
Until then,