In the last article we looked at the Justice part of Justice,
Peace, & Integrity of Creation (JPIC).
Here are some relevant quotes from a variety of sources over the years
that will help focus our discussion of the second part of JPIC – PEACE.
Finally, it is to be hoped that, in
carrying out their responsibilities in the international community, Catholics
will seek to cooperate actively and constructively with other Christians, who
profess the same Gospel of love, and with all men who hunger and thirst for
true peace. (Gaudium et specs, 90.)
Peace begins within each of us. It is
a process of repeatedly showing mercy to ourselves, forgiving ourselves,
befriending ourselves, accepting ourselves, and loving ourselves. As we learn
to appreciate ourselves and accept God's gift of peace, we begin to radiate
peace and love to others. (Reverend John Dear)
Peace concerns the human person as a
whole, and it involves complete commitment. It is peace with God through a life
lived according to his will. It is interior peace with oneself, and exterior
peace with our neighbors and all creation. (World Day of Peace – 2013; Benedict XVI.)
My peace I bequeath to you, my own
peace I give to you. A peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. (John 14:27.)
In his Testament, Francis tells us
that “the Lord revealed a greeting to me that we should say: ‘May the Lord give
you peace.’” Saint Bonaventure recalls, “At the beginning and end of every
sermon [Francis] announced peace; in every greeting he wished for peace.” Both
Francis and Clare greeted the people of Assisi with Pace e Bene! (Peace and
Good!) As Franciscans, peace must be at the center of all our comings and
goings. (Handbook for Animators
of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation [JPIC].)
Many people believe that peace is just the absence of conflict—you
know, no battles or disagreements.
Blessed Paul VI reminds us that “If
you want Peace, work for Justice.” (Paul VI - World Day of
Peace, 1972.)
“A Peace that is not the result of
true respect for man is not true Peace. And what do we call this sincere
feeling for man? We call it Justice.” (Paul VI - (World Day
of Peace, 1972.)
Franciscans understand that peace is much more that the
absence of conflict, whether it be war between nations or disagreements between
people. The underlying nature of true
peace, the kind that Jesus gives, is rooted in our understanding and acceptance
of God’s love for us and our care and concern for others—how we treat them—how
we interact with them—how we think about them. To paraphrase an old saying, “Peace begins at home.”
However, sometimes the appearance of peace can be
deceiving. In the person, like in
nations, a seemingly quiet exterior betrays what lies underneath. I live near the Mississippi River. On a quiet, calm summer day, the surface of
the river looks tranquil as it flows from 1.2 to 3 miles an hour; but we know
that beneath that quiet surface lurks a current that is extremely strong with dangerous
eddies and submerged obstacles, all of which can cause a disaster for one who
has wandered too far into the stream.
Just so, the quiet calm of a person’s visage and the lack of fighting
between nations betray the violent tendencies that may lie beneath the surface. That violence in a person makes it easier to
accept violence between nations as a solution to conflicts and problems.
Violence has many faces: oppression of the poor, deprivation of basic
human rights, economic exploitation, sexual exploitation and pornography,
neglect or abuse of the aged and the helpless, and innumerable other acts of inhumanity. Abortion, in particular, blunts a sense of
the sacredness of human life. (The
Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response; USCCB, 1983; 285.)
These attitudes are not just societal or community issues;
they begin in the heart of individual persons.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual
immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matthew 15: 19; New International Bible.) Consequently, we recognize that our inter-relationships can
be the root of many other problems—our individual attitudes about others may
create a “violence” that may even be unknown to us.
Part of our goal, then, is to eliminate where possible, at
least reduce, the “eddies and obstacles” that lie beneath the surface of our
personal demeanor—attitudes that include not just the list from the Bishops but
more personal ones like snarky comments, impatience, anger, pride, gossip, and
so on—anything that demeans the other person.
We must address our own individual biases, prejudices, and improperly
formed consciences that can lead to thoughtless actions toward others.
All of the values we are promoting in
this letter rest ultimately in the disarmament of the human heart and the
conversion of the human spirit to God who alone can give authentic peace. Indeed, to have peace in our world, we must
first have peace within ourselves. As
Pope John Paul II reminded us in his 1982 World Day of Peace message, world
peace will always elude us until peace becomes a reality for each of us
personally. “It springs from the
dynamism of free wills guided by reason towards the common good that is to be
attained in truth, justice, and love.”
Interior peace becomes possible only when we have a conversion of
spirit. We cannot have peace with hate
in our hearts.
(Challenge of Peace; op. cit.; 284.)
To find the peace that eludes the world, we are challenged to
begin within our own sphere of influence by reducing and eliminating those
areas that cause bitterness, estrangement, and even violence between us and the
people whom we encounter every day.
We must believe in the sacredness of all human life!
Especially as
Franciscans, we see in the other person the image of poor Christ. We treat the other person with great respect,
love, joy, and humility. Most certainly,
we protect the most vulnerable among us—the preborn, the disabled, the elderly,
the poor, the homeless, the dying.
We must pray!
A conversion of our hearts and minds
make it possible for us to enter into a closer communion with our Lord. We nourish that communion by personal and
communal prayer, for it is in prayer that we encounter Jesus who is our peace
and learn from him the way to peace. (Challenge of Peace; op. cit.; 290.)
We must make sincere and good
acts of penance!
Prayer by itself in incomplete
without penance. Penance directs us
toward our goal of putting on the attitudes of Jesus himself. Because we are all capable of violence, we
are never totally conformed to Christ and are always in need of
conversion. (Challenge of Peace; op. cit.; 297.)
Not only must we work on individual violence, we must find
ways to deal with our community conflicts as well. The practice of non-violence is an effective
means to resolve conflicts. This does
not mean that one becomes namby-pamby in addressing injustice or conflict. “Non-violence
is not the way of the weak, the cowardly, or the impatient.” (Challenge of Peace; op. cit.; 222.)
Gandhi & King are modern examples of non-violent approaches to grave
injustice in their societies. So, we participate
in non-violent expressions of concern, maybe even outrage, over the injustices
that our society contains.
But the same approach works in personal relationships as
well. “[The] arts of diplomacy,
negotiation, and compromise must be developed and fully exercised.” (Challenge of Peace; op.
cit.; 222.) For
example, instead of arguing with the other person trying to prove how right we
are, we listen actively to their concerns and then enter into a dialogue with
them to resolve the issues between us.
Our Rule reminds us, in many ways, of our Franciscan
responsibility to reach for these goals:
5. Secular Franciscans, therefore,
should seek to encounter the living and active person of Christ in their
brothers and sisters, in Sacred Scripture, in the Church, and in liturgical
activity.
7.
United by their vocation as "brothers and sisters of penance"
and motivated by the dynamic power of the gospel, let them conform their
thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by means of that radical interior change
which the gospel calls "conversion."
Human frailty makes it necessary that this conversion be carried out
daily. On this road to renewal the
sacrament of reconciliation is the privileged sign of the Father's mercy and
the source of grace.
12.
Witnessing to the good yet to come and obligated to acquire purity of
heart because of the vocation they have embraced, they should set themselves
free to love God and their brothers and sisters.
14.
Secular Franciscans, together with all people of good will, are called
to build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may
be brought about more effectively.
Mindful that anyone "who follows Christ, the perfect man, becomes
more of a man himself," let them exercise their responsibilities
competently in the Christian spirit of service.
15.
Let them individually and collectively be in the forefront in promoting
justice by the testimony of their human lives and their courageous
initiatives. Especially in the field of
public life, they should make definite choices in harmony with their faith.
19.
Mindful that they are bearers of peace which must be built up
unceasingly, they should seek out ways of unity and fraternal harmony through
dialogue, trusting in the presence of the divine seed in everyone and in the
transforming power of love and pardon. Messengers of perfect joy in every
circumstance, they should strive to bring joy and hope to others.
After meditating on these ideas, we readily understand why we
Franciscans pair up the ideas of Justice and Peace; because one without the
other is not possible. As we journey in
Francis’s footsteps, we realize that our individual attitudes and responses toward
others can create violence at the personal level. So, we work individually and fraternally to
overcome these weaknesses in our character and behaviors. We embrace the other person with love and
joy. We look for the lepers in our lives
and find ways to help them grow, improve and become whole. We bring them the joy, hope, and peace of
Jesus!
And in this action—this way of living—we find, for ourselves,
that same peace that Jesus gives—the inner peace that allows us to confront the
world with the calm joy, assurance, and resolve that Francis emulates.
Pace e Bene!
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