FAUSTO GOMEZ OP
As human beings, as citizens of a nation and of the world, as Christians, we are committed to work for peace – for inner and social peace, to practice peace through life. We all desire peace, and St. Thomas adds: “We desire to obtain what we desire.”
In human perspective, all men and women of good will have to work for peace. Vatican II says: “A firm determination to respect other men and peoples and their dignity as well as the studied practice of brotherhood are absolutely necessary for the establishment of peace,” which “is never attained once and for all, but must be built up ceaselessly” (Gaudium et Spes 78). Truly, Peace is God’s gift and a most urgent task for all people. The believers of all religions are called to be artisans of peace, “to work together for the common good and the promotion of the poor” (Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti).
In Christian perspective, peace is a gift of God and a task for his children. It is a grace of God through Jesus and a responsibility for persons and peoples rooted in the divine grace of the Holy Spirit. Earthly peace “is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic ‘Prince of Peace’” (CCC 2305). Peace is one of the Beatitudes and a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
What is, then, our task for peace in the world and in our respective country and region? The task of peace is peacemaking! God’s gift of peace is like a seed that must produce progressively fruits of truth, justice, freedom, love and compassion. The theory of peace urges us to the practice – or praxis – of peace, that is, to peacemaking in our world.
Hereafter is my simple recipe for peacemaking, which I have prepared for myself and wish to share with our readers.
In this first column, we present the first two requirements for peacemaking in our world today.
- BE AT PEACE WITH YOURSELF AND WITH GOD
To be at peace with others, I have to be at peace with myself, that is, I have to possess personal peace: the body under the spirit and the passions under the will, at least substantially: “Peace begins within our hearts” (Paul VI). Without interior peace, I cannot give peace to others as a Christian, a disciple is asked to do (cf. Lk 10:5-6).
To be at peace with myself, I (a sinner) need to be at peace with God. Sin is division, brokenness, and slavery. St. Thomas Aquinas says that there can be no true peace without sanctifying grace. I have to be at peace with Christ. Christ is our peace, Gregory of Nyssa: “Since we think of Christ as our peace. We may call ourselves true Christians only if our lives express Christ by our own peace.”
The journey of peace through peaceful means begins, as St. John of the Cross underlines, with the attainment of interior peace. To attain internal peace, the appetites, the bad tendencies, the vices must be pacified. The mystic writes: “Where the appetite and concupiscence do not rule there is no disturbance but peace and consolation.”
To work for peace effectively, I have to possess true peace, that is, God’s peace. As the lyrics of the well-known song put it, “let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” I recall the words of St. Seraphim: “Acquire inner peace and thousands around you will find liberation.”
- BE AT PEACE WITH YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY AND COMMUNITY
As love of neighbor is practiced in the first place with the most proximate neighbors, so also social peace must be lived, in the first place, by being at peace with the members of my family, my parish, my professional association, my community. The human family, in particular, is a community of peace. (See Benedict XVI, Message, January 1, 2008). From the very origins of the Dominican Order comes this story: The provincial visitators to the convents were charged with the duty of checking three things: First, do the friars live in peace with one another? Second, are they constant in their studies? Third, are they fervent in their preaching?
To be at peace with others, I have to be just to them, and to love them. I have to forgive them and ask for forgiveness from them. Once I received a lovely card from a friend – a card with this message: “To forgive and be forgiven make the world new every day.”
I keep repeating to myself: I talk big words on peace. They mean little if in my community life I am intolerant, or unjust, or pharisaic, or unloving, or unforgiving. To be a peacemaker as a member of the community, I have to be respectful, honest, caring, forgiving, patient, non-violent in thought, words and deeds. I have to be dialogical, not dogmatic; democratic, not authoritarian; open, not closed in within myself. I have to practice fraternity: all others are my brothers and sisters. Pope Francis tells you and me: “Fraternity is the foundation of peace and a pathway to peace.” Fratelli Tutti).
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