Catholic Singles

FINDING PEACE
BY: MARK ANTHONY ROSOLOWSKI

As a parent, with screaming children, peace is when they finally fall asleep for the night and quiet descends upon the house. As a serviceman or woman fighting a battle, peace is when the battles finally come to an end, the fighting stops, and “Mission accomplished“, is heard. To a person being tormented by adversities and hardships, peace is when you can finally find the way to escape those torments and adversities. You finally discover what Jesus meant when He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” We hear these words often, but do we really listen to what they say and mean.

Inner peace, a peace inside of yourself, a peace in your soul, a peace in your heart, a peace that can be seen in your face and a peace that allows you to relax. We all desire that inner peace, that tranquility of the soul and heart, yet few of us achieve it. We allow the petty spats and annoyances cloud our thoughts and harden our hearts, we refuse to let go of them. We allow these feelings to fester inside of us, until they wreck havoc on our inner peace, we find we cannot rest, we cannot sleep, we are in turmoil we do not have. Peace.

If you listen to the words as spoken in John 14:27, you will understand what peace is. Jesus started His statement by saying, “Peace I leave with you.” At that point He is showing us that to have true inner peace we receive it through Him. He is giving us peace within ourselves as a gift. Next He says, “My peace I give you”, Jesus at this point is forgiving us for any transgressions we may have, and He is offering us His peace. It is continued with, “I do not give you as the world gives”. Which indicates His peace to us, is different then the peace we receive from others. His peace is an eternal peace, it is a cleansing peace, and it is a peace that will save our souls. It ends with, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” If our hearts are troubled we cannot have the inner peace that we desire, that we need, that we cry out for. We cannot let them be afraid, we must forgive to be forgiven and then open them up again, even though we may hurt, as long as we have our inner peace we will be able to be open again without fear.

The next time you are at mass, do not just shake hands with your friends, and do not just hug your loved ones. Rather seek out someone you have had a problem with, a person who may have done you wrong a person who has hurt you. Offer them your outstreached hand and say to them “Peace be with you.” If Jesus can forgive us all of our sins, surely we can forgive those that have done harm to us.

“Peace be with you.”