Day 301: Peace (2302-2306)

• It’s Day 301!!

• SAFEGUARDING PEACE

• PEACE

• Paragraph 2304 says, “Respect for and development of human life require peace. 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.”

• The Cold War between the USA and Soviet Union was not a period of peace just because we did not have all out war

• We will also look at hatred and anger today

• Paragraph 2303 says, “Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes them evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him grave harm. ‘But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.’”

• There are a lot of levels to the Fifth Commandment, not just taking another innocent human being’s life

• Do I have anger that I have fostered in my heart?

• Is there deliberate hatred that I have held onto that has moved me in a way that is unjust?

• Am I really striving after peace?

• Have I tried to become like Jesus, the Prince of Peace?

• Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers…”

• Is that me?

• Or am I tolerant of division and injustice and a lack of love in this world?

• If I am, I need to change

• We all need to change… Rocky IV (12/12) Movie CLIP - Everybody Can Change (1985) HD 

• Am I OK with the anger that I foster in my heart?

• Am I OK with the hatred that I hold onto in my heart?

• If I am, then I need to hear the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the peacemakers…”

• I need to let the Prince of Peace conquer the hatred and anger in my heart

• This is for all of us because peace is not merely absence of war

• It is something much more profound and much deeper

• Every single one of us is called to be an agent of peace

• Let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and thank you. We thank you for sending us Jesus Christ, your Son, the Prince of Peace, who in Himself killed hostility. In Himself, He reconciled God with man. Lord God, bring us that reconciliation once again. Renew in us that reconciliation once again. Bring us peace of heart, even in the midst of division, even in the midst of violence and hatred, even in the midst of this world, which is good, but broken. Help us to not only receive your peace and live your peace, but to bring your peace into the relationships around us, into our families, our friendships, our work, and into our community. Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Prince of Peace. Please reign in our hearts so that we can be like you, agents of peace in this world, peacemakers who are blessed by God, our Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• When it comes to anger, is that in my heart?

• When it comes to hatred, is that in my heart?

• Emotions are amoral in the sense that they are neither right nor wrong on their own

• They require a context

• They require a situation

• Paragraph 2302 says, “By recalling the commandment, ‘You shall not kill,’ our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral. Anger is a desire for revenge. ‘To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit,’ but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution ‘to correct vices and maintain justice.’ If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, ‘Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.’”

• When it comes to whatever just punishments that the state hands out to those who have broken the law, they must not be done in anger

• They must not be done out of a desire for revenge

• To say that I need to avoid anger is not the same thing as saying the state must not give out punishment for crimes

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike’s example of someone wrecking your car and his example for someone who hurts you or someone you love…

• Wanting them to experience the consequences of their actions is justice

• If that desire is motivated by revenge, it wounds our own hearts and souls

• This is one of the great mysteries of forgiveness

• This is one of the great mysteries of justice vs revenge

• To say I want justice is good and it does not wound your soul

• To say I want to forgive because forgiveness is an incredible good and does not wound your soul

• BUT…

• To say I want to make this person pay because of the desire for revenge, that wounds our souls

• Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment 

• That kind of anger does not necessarily lead to justice

• That kind of anger wounds our hearts

• In order to have peace, we need to work for justice

• That means there are consequences for people’s actions

• Paragraph 2303 says, “Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes them evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him grave harm. ‘But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.’”

• We end up wounding ourselves when we foster and cultivate hatred of the neighbor

• We are hurting our relationship with the Lord

• All of this is motivated by the call in our hearts to be like Jesus

• Our goal should be to get through life with the heart of Jesus

• Paragraph 2305 says, “Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic ‘Prince of Peace.’ By the blood of his Cross, ‘in his own person he killed the hostility,’ he reconciled men with God and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God. ‘He is our peace.’ He has declared: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’”

• Jesus has called us to Himself to have His heart out in the world

• That is a high call

• We are called to forgive our enemies and love our enemies and pray for those that hurt us

• These are among the hardest things that Jesus has called us to do

• Jesus was very clear in His Sermon on the Mount

• Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment

• Unless we forgive our brother from our heart, then we cannot share in the Peace of Christ

• We cannot share in the banquet of Christ

• This is a high and important call for our hearts

• Deliberate hatred and the desire for revenge cultivated in our hearts wounds us and wounds our relationships

• Paragraph 2304 says, “Respect for and development of human life require peace. 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.”

• This is basically the idea of justice

• What you have is yours

• What I have is mine

• We get to actually talk with one another

• In the USA we have the First Amendment for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly

• Peace cannot be imposed from outside

• That is just suspension of war

• Peace is the work of justice and the effect of love

• Things are in the right place, doing the thing they should be doing

• There is order there, that comes from within

• Anger doesn’t necessarily mean I have acted in anger

• Hatred doesn’t necessarily mean I have acted in hatred

• It means I have cultivated and fostered them in my heart and what ends up getting wounded?

• My own heart

• What gets wounded after that?

• Our relationships

• What gets wounded after that?

• Our community

• This is one of the reasons Jesus says don’t just avoid killing your neighbor

• Avoid hating your neighbor

• Avoid holding on to anger against your neighbor

• Jesus is calling us to love our neighbor

• Jesus is calling us to do good to those who hate us

• Jesus is calling us to pray for those who persecute us

• We are not only called to have peace in our hearts

• We are called to be peacemakers

• That is a high call and it is difficult

• If we are going to take God at His Word, then that is what we are going to strive after

• We can’t do it without God’s grace

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT…